


'Cause the World Might Do Me In

by spirithorse



Series: Liberty Verse [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Temeraire - Naomi Novik, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Temeraire Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-28 21:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 88,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7657918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“And other things.” Steve tipped his head to the side, breaking the eye contact. “You’re not getting any younger.” Liberty snorted in disagreement, but Steve continued on like he hadn’t heard. “And SHIELD isn’t the SSR. I thought it would be, but it’s something different.” A Temeriare Fusion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not as Brave as You Were at the Start

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, we get to the Winter Soldier. Title from Ghost by Mystery Skulls. The chapter titles come from Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons.

Steve stared up at the ceiling of his apartment. There was a crack running through one corner, Steve staring at the familiar shapes it made. It had been his constant nighttime companion since he had gotten back from New York. It was the one thing that he found himself staring at during the early hours of the morning, between when exhaustion coaxed him to bed but the surroundings kept him up.

He dropped his hand over the side of the bed, running his fingers over the edge of the shield as he looked around his apartment.

It had been a month since he had been in his small apartment in DC and he had forgotten how much he had hated it. Washington DC was nothing like New York, it sounded different and had different patterns. Worst of all, the Triskelion didn’t have quarters for their dragon crews. There were two rooms held in ready for the courier and the captain of the quick response team dragon, but Liberty was neither of them, which meant that he had to shift for himself. It was hard to fall asleep when he had spent the past few months sleeping close to his dragon, because he had been sleeping on a couch in Avenger’s Tower.

He shifted on his bed, trying to get comfortable on the mattress. Despite Tony’s many attempts to get him to move up to his floor on the tower. Steve hadn’t wanted to be too far away from Liberty when the dragon had stitches, not when Liberty might scratch at them when someone wasn’t around. He hadn’t figured out how to tell Tony that he couldn’t sleep on a comfortable mattress, not when he was used to the ground when they had been out in missions, on Liberty himself or the cot in the SHIELD headquarters basement. He wasn’t used to having something so soft, not even during his time as a civilian. Their beds had been rougher than their neighbors’.

Steve sighed and sat up, looping his arms around his knees. He didn’t need to look at his clock to know that it was early in the morning. He was sure that he would be getting up for his run in a few hours anyway, so there was no harm in starting early. The sooner his run was over, the sooner he could get back to Liberty and check in on his dragon. Captains might not have been allowed to sleep in the Triskelion’s dragon by under the usual circumstances, but there was no rule that they couldn’t be there during the day. There were many days that he had spent in the captain’s break room since he had come back.

Liberty had managed to avoid being punished for his desertion of duty, a combination of recovery from an injury and the fact that there was no known way to stop a dragon from rushing after the humans they considered their own. Considering that Liberty regarded Tony Stark as one of his humans, Director Fury shouldn’t have been surprised that the dragon would go off at the drop of a hat. Steve would have been harder on the dragon if they hadn’t been used for anything but a show of force in the face of the Mandarin attacks. Standing on the lawn of the White House, grounded and told to keep out of the way in case of any trouble, it was no wonder that Liberty had chosen Tony over anything that SHIELD had assigned him.

Steve hauled himself out of bed, running his fingers along the top of his shield as he walked away. He hesitated by his bedside table, glancing at the phone that sat quietly on top of it, almost surprised by how quiet it had been. He and Liberty might have been given a month for the dragon to recover, but Fury had made them pay it back. Steve couldn’t remember the last time he had actually had to worry about occupying himself through the few hours of sleep through the night with the way his phone had kept going off. Then again, Steve was sure that it was just a matter of time. There was always something going on that needed the STRIKE team instead of the standby team that one of the younger Firecrackers fielded.

It should have been a relief to have a moment to breathe instead of being sent on another mission. The last one had had them flying off to Peru to meet with the Sapa Inca. There had been rumors of old Hydra bunkers that the locals had been digging up. The nervous dragons and governors had been more than willing to help him and the STRIKE team carry the old technology away before someone had gotten hurt, although Liberty had spent more time keeping a semi-wary eye on the Incan dragons. They had all seemed to be very interested in the STRIKE team. Steve didn’t know if Liberty considered the team as _his_ , but they had worked together long enough that Liberty had been giving the Incan dragons angry looks for asking about them.

Steve shook his head, tapping his phone to bring the screen up. He squinted in the bright light, looking for the little message icon and sighing when there was nothing. If he was lucky, he was going to get a morning to himself, although he wasn’t holding his breath. Steve was sure that, as soon as he walked into the Triskelion, he would be called to do something. The dragon team loved having an extra set of hands around now that all seven dragons were back in the bay. The ground crew was scrambling to take care of the dragons and most of the captains were tied up in other things. Only Captain Flores and Captain Soto were always around the dragons, but that was because they were the quick response team and the courier respectively. The others were still on the usual agent roster, meaning that they were constantly in meetings and working. It was enough to make him grateful that he and Liberty were strangely outside of the usual chain of command.

 He didn’t want to spend his days trapped behind a desk when his dragon was just a few floors down. It wasn’t as good as just across the covert or right beside him at the tower, but at least it was better than streets away. It wasn’t the same without the sounds of a dragon close, which was a strange thought in itself. Considering all the time he had spent with Liberty lately, Steve fully expected to have had his fill of the dragon.

Modern dragons weren’t kept on the same tight leash that he was used to from World War II, something that had surprised him the first time that he had seen it. He had never doubted that the dragons could captain themselves just as well as a human could, they were far better at figuring out aerial battles than even the best strategist could ever hope to be. Steve had just not be aware of how much more leeway that dragons could win for themselves. The other captains had no problem distancing themselves from their dragons at times. He had head Captain Wolanski complaining about how much Dejudicavi was a handful, especially lately. Or maybe it was just because his dragon was the oldest of the bunch. Liberty had already been through the worst of his crazy years, and Steve had been in the ice for most of them.

He rubbed his arms, trying to shake the memory of the ice. His unease came back with the feeling of cold, Steve looking around his apartment. It made him feel more out of place than before.

He swiped his phone from his table, shoving it into the pocket of his sweatpants. At least he hadn’t bothered putting on his usual pajamas, some kind of intuition that he wouldn’t be getting the chance to sleep too long. The only thing that he needed to do was to pull on a shirt, tugging it into place as he walked towards the door.

Steve reached for his keys, only to jerk his hand back as he twisted around to look at his shield. He felt naked without it close by his side, but he doubted that he could jog through DC with it. It would attract too much attention, something that he wanted to avoid for the time being.

For one morning, he wanted to be nothing more than Steve Rogers.

* * *

Liberty tipped his trough over with one claw, eyeing the last bits of food that were tucked into the corners. He huffed, looking at the unappetizing looking conglomeration of ground meat, marrow and vitamin powder. Liberty tentatively dragged his tongue over the vitamin power that had been left on the edges of the trough. The powder was flavored, something that he was grateful for. The rest of the food was supposed to be flavored, or so Liberty had seen from the bags that the ground crew would lug in, but he didn’t count something that vaguely tasted like beef or pork as flavored.

He ran his tongue around the edge of the trough before he turned his attention to the last bits of food. He flicked his tongue out to pull the bits out of the rounded ends of the trough. Liberty snapped them up, swallowing them before he could really taste them. He nosed around in the trough, searching for any bits that he had left before he nudged it back towards the front of his stall.

He licked his lips as he turned around in the stall, resting his head on the padded section at the front so he could look out into the aisle.

Liberty could hear the sounds of the other dragons finishing up their breakfast, a few of the smaller ones already done. Glorior the Winchester was already halfway out into the aisle, watching the ground crew and the captains come and go as they went about their duties. The Winchester made a chirping sound, the dragon calling a greeting to the crews that were starting to file in for the day. A few of the humans stopped to greet him, but most nodded, continuing to haul in supplies or move freshly cleaned harnesses back to their proper places.

The two lightweight Narragansetts were also watching the movement out in the aisle closely, their cream speckled necks moving as they spoke to the humans and the dragons on either side of them. Decus even had his head turned so he could peer over the small divider that was between the stalls, probably talking to Proclamation of Freedom on the other side.

Liberty tipped his head to the side, sighing when he recognized the sound of the younger Firecracker’s voice. The two of them were probably talking about crew reassignments, something that had occupied the two of the lately as they were the youngest dragons in the Triskelion.

He huffed and reached up to scratch behind his jaw, listening to the sounds of the dragon bay waking up for the morning. Nothing was out of place, something that should have settled him. Maybe he was just too used to being out on missions with the STRIKE team to sit easily in one place for a while. It was nothing like the expected behavior for a dragon his age, but Liberty couldn’t imagine being content with sleeping all day. Steve was too active for that, and Liberty had fun keeping up.

He lifted his head up as he heard a soft rumble from the stall next to his, Liberty lifting his head at the same time as the heavyweight beside him. He nodded at her, watching as Amoena yawned. The Dakota didn’t respond until she had shut her jaws, Amoena turning her head to look down at him.

She was far larger than Fergal, Liberty used to having a dragon of her coloration and breed closer to his size. Then again, the other Dakota had never talked about his lineage, none of the SHIELD dragons had. It was an affectation that none of them had ever learned. There had been no time between SHIELD missions, and there had been no time back in World War I. Back then, they had only had time for flying and staying alive.

Amoena rested her lower jaw against the short wall, giving him a long look over. “Good morning.”

“You’re in a good mood.”

Amoena opened her mouth in a lazy draconic smile, Liberty sure that the tip of her tail was twitching. “Why shouldn’t I be? I just got back from a lovely break with an equally lovely Regal Copper.”

Liberty hummed, hearing the sound repeated by the dragon on the other side of Amoena. He turned his head slightly, seeing the third Firecracker in the dragon bay following the conversation with the same amount of interest.

Blaze of Glory cleared his throat, absently flicking a piece of his harness out of his way. “Will there be an egg?”

“I think so.” Amoena tipped her head to the side. “I hope so. He was really a wonderful dragon.”

Liberty chuckled, shaking his head as he lowered it. He didn’t get it too far before Amoena leaned further over the wall to jab her nose at his neck. “No offense meant.”

“None taken.”

Blaze of Glory laughed from across the way, Liberty seeing one of the Firecracker’s wings flick out before Glory folded it back again. “You sure you don’t want an egg from the old man.”

Amoena tipped her head to the side, a thoughtful noise rumbling out from the back of her throat. “That would be nice.”

Liberty nervously rubbed his muzzle against his leg, carefully not looking over between the two. He lifted his muzzle away, trying to look as calm as he could as he resettled in his stall. “Thanks, but I’m not on the market. Busy.”

“Aren’t we all?” Amoena lifted her head away, probably settling the rest of her body in her stall. Liberty was sure that he didn’t imagine the wink that she gave him. “But there’s always a later. Another one of your New York trips, perhaps?”

Liberty very carefully didn’t respond, listing to Amoena laugh to herself as she settled herself down, the heavyweight probably going to nap. As far as Liberty knew, she wouldn’t be flying out. It wasn’t her slot for exercise nor did she have a mission because the ground crew were still continuing with their harness distribution at the same pace. The only harness that they were hurrying belonged to Lozen, but the Paloosa was on quick response duty and there was no telling when the orders were come down for her to go out.

He eyed the beige and black dragon, watching as she shifted nervously in her stall. She kept raising her head and peering out to the door that led back to the Triskelion proper. The movement kept drawing his attention to the branching scar that ran down the side of the dragon’s neck, marring the splattering of white spots that ran along her tail, back and neck.

Lozen rubbed nervously at the scar, the claws of her other hand twitching on the floor. Liberty hadn’t know the dragon for too long, but he doubted that she had been so worried before she had gotten the scar. All of the other dragons in the bay whispered about some phantom heavyweight that she had run into on a SHIELD mission, Blaze of Glory being the most vocal about how her story couldn’t be completely true. There was no way a dragon could breathe lighting as easily as a Firecracker could breathe fire. Glory insisted that Lozen had gotten into a fight with a heavyweight and had gotten herself badly beaten. Between the end of the fight and the flight back, she must have been struck by lightning, but Liberty wasn’t too sure. The memory of a red and gold heavyweight with powers beyond what a dragon should have weighed heavily on him.

He dragged his claws along the bed of his stall, watching as Lozen finally relaxed, the Paloosa getting to her feet as Captain Flores walked over to her. The two exchanged a quick conversation while the ground crew assembled Lozen’s light duty harness around her.

Liberty huffed and let his head loll slightly to the side. It wasn’t an emergency then, Lozen was just going out for her exercise flight. He sighed and let his eyes close. The entire bay would go through a rotation just to take the edge off, making sure that there was always a dragon in case they were needed to rush off for a mission. Of course, he would be able to make the short jump from Roosevelt Island to the city proper as long as he had his comm unit, but Liberty didn’t want to make the effort, not unless he knew where Steve was. His captain would be around to the Triskelion soon enough, it had become Steve’s habit to spend most of his day with the dragons.

He shifted so he could open his eye and look at the door that led back into the Triskelion. Through the door was the captain and crew’s breakroom before the rest of the building. Liberty was sure that Glorior’s captain would be in there, probably fast asleep. For a moment, he was tempted to get up and peer through the windows, but he knew better.

The STRIKE team was busy with their own duties, they weren’t a dragon specific team. Even then, some of the other teams visited their dragons on a regular basis. The hours between when Steve left for his apartment and when he returned made Liberty miss the Avenger’s Tower. There had always been someone there, which meant someone to talk to or at least the sound of someone else. Other dragons were alright, but they weren’t _his_ and they were all far younger than him. Their age just made him yearn for the company of Viatrix and Fergal.

Liberty sighed and resettled himself more comfortable, fully intending to take a nap until Steve came to see him. He wouldn’t be called upon to fly for his exercise until later in the day and no one would bother him unless there was an emergency. It was back to hurry up and wait, something that he had far too much experience with. Then again, Liberty was sure that any other dragon his age would be glad of the chance to rest between missions. Maybe he was just sub consciously trying to keep up with Steve like he was younger dragon again.

He huffed at the thought, pointedly shutting his eyes and trying to sink into sleep. The sounds of the bay kept him from falling into a deep sleep, but Liberty didn’t mind. The noises made him feel like he was a part of something instead of just another dragon waiting for his crew and orders.

He didn’t know how long he had dozed before the sound of the ground crew moving changed. Large numbers of them were moving in force and at a fast pace. He lifted up his head, raising it higher as the ground crew came running over with his harness. It wasn’t the light duty one, that one was still made out of leather for easy cleaning. This was his mission harness, the one that Stark Industries had made, the material strong, lightweight and practically machine washable although Liberty knew that the ground crew mostly dunked the whole thing in a bucket and scrubbed it with the rest of the mission harnesses.

Liberty stood up and took a step back deeper into his stall. The ground crew would have to drag the parts and pieces over, along with any equipment that the team would need. He could already see one woman struggling with the radios that would be loaded onto his back. They were set down onto the ground outside of his stall. Liberty resisted the urge to stretch his neck out and sniff at them. It would be better if he stayed out of the way of the ground crews until they were ready for him to step out and held them pull the harness onto his back.

He shifted so he could look down at the breast collar that he wore, taking the time to rub his nose against the captain’s bars that were pinned there. Liberty worked on getting them to a reasonable shine, pausing when he heard the ground crew stop. He lifted his head, expecting to see the ground crew ready for him to start the harnesses process. Instead, he saw Conner Forester moving through the knot of people.

The man nodded as he dodged through them, jumping into the stall and giving Liberty a cheery wave. Liberty responded by lowering his head, stopping short of pressing his muzzle against the man’s hand.

Conner didn’t seem to be insulted, the man just tucked the tablet he was carrying under his arm, making a motion like a salute. The motion almost brightened Liberty’s mood. It was hard to be mad at Conner, he was the youngest of the STRIKE team and the one that seemed to be the most comfortable with interacting with him outside of missions. That was probably the reason that Rumlow had sent Conner down while the rest of the STRIKE team prepared themselves.

Liberty tipped his head to look at Conner out of one eye, the motion enough to encourage the man to speak. “Everyone else will be coming down in a few minutes. Romanoff has been sent to retrieve Captain Rogers. As soon as they get here, we’ll be lifting off.”

“To where.”

Conner pulled the tablet out from under his arm, tapping at the screen before turning it towards Liberty. It was hard to see the screen considering the size, but he could just make out the position and a set of coordinates. He squinted at the numbers, glad when Conner zoomed in on the set of numbers. Lat. 16N 55’ 12.06” Long. 72N 56’ 7.09”.

Liberty shook his head, relieved when Conner shifted to a map, the location marked out on it. Liberty remained quiet as Conner zoomed back out, looking at the patch of the Indian Ocean. It didn’t look too interesting, Liberty huffing and lifting his head. “What’s out there?”

“A satellite ship. It’s basically a launching platform. Those are its last coordinates.” Conner tucked the tablet back under his arm. “We’ve gotten reports that it has been hijacked, so we’ve got to go liberate it.”

Liberty hummed, curling his claws as he thought. “What about the dragon transports?”

“We’re getting coordinates of the ones in the Pacific. We’ll be going over the land for the rest of the time and pinging coverts as we go.”

He nodded, accepting the plan. He would prefer to stay over land for as long as possible before starting the jump over water, and traveling in his own country was always easier. As long as they stayed in radio contact with SHIELD, he would have no problem in adjusting to the positions of the floating dragon transports. Liberty just hoped that they wouldn’t be full. He didn’t want to be shoved off just because he was a middleweight.

He muttered his thanks to Conner, not surprised when the man nodded and darted off. He hadn’t expected any of the STRIKE team to stay during the harnessing, they would all be waiting on the launching platform. That didn’t stop him from wanting his crew to be around.

Liberty watched Conner walk off, sighing and turning his attention back to the ground crew. They had laid his harness out, almost ready for him to step into the loops and start lifting them into place. He gave Conner one last look before moving to the front of his stall.

At least the ground crew looked happy to see him. They moved out of the way, ready to let him settle into place before they started scurrying over him. Liberty nodded at them, stepping out of his stall and into the aisle to begin the harnessing process.

* * *

The _Lemurian Star_ was the only spot of light in the dark ocean. Liberty took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment as he tried to parse apart the scents. He could smell the salt of the ocean and the humans that were secured to his back. The ship and its contents were a fainter smell, but he wasn’t paying much attention to ship just yet; they were still far enough that Liberty could focus attention elsewhere. What he was looking for was any sign of another dragon.

SHIELD had passed the information on who had hijacked the ship as Liberty had kicked off of the last dragon transport. The news that Georges Batroc and his mercenaries had been the ones behind the taking of the ship had come with the new set of coordinates. Liberty had listened long enough to judge the danger that Steve and the STRIKE team would face before he had turned his attention to flying and searching the skies for a dragon.

The files hadn’t specified that Batroc had any known dragon associate, but Liberty was sure that it wouldn’t take much to attract a dragon mercenary. Feral dragons were more than happy to work for food, a little gold and any safety from farmers that were more than happy to shoot ferals on sight. It wouldn’t have taken long for a feral or two to cart Batroc’s crew to the _Lemurian Star_ from one of the ship’s sweeps close to the coast. The ferals might have turned back since the ship was moving out into the open ocean, but Liberty didn’t want to take that chance. It would be too easy for the ferals to stoop and snatch the humans from his back or from the deck.

He banked, making a large circle around the ship as he scouted the area. He could hear the soft murmur of the team on his back as they went over the plan, Liberty barely paying them any attention. When they were ready, they would share with him his part, although Liberty was sure that they would want him in the air. Batroc was out of reach of any dragons, which meant that Liberty could grab control of the skies if need be.

The water was a different matter altogether. Liberty ducked his head down briefly, scanning the ocean below him. The lights on the _Lemurian Star_ didn’t reach too far out, making it impossible to tell what was a wave or what was the back of a sea serpent rising. The files had never said anything about Batroc working with the sea serpents, but Liberty knew that they would have been easier to use and then slip away without any records of them being there. Sea serpents weren’t known for their long memory and Liberty doubted that they would cooperate with SHIELD without being bribed.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to pick out shapes of anything that was moving in the water, annoyed when he couldn’t spot anything. If Batroc had used sea serpents, Liberty was sure that they were long gone now. He shook his head and turned his attention back up to the sky, flicking his tongue out.

He couldn’t smell other dragons, nor could he see them moving through the sky above him. He slowed his wing beats, coasting as he listened for the sound of other dragons. Liberty wouldn’t be able to tell which kind of dragon it was by the sound of the wing beats, but it was a clue to be ready for an attack from above. Liberty hadn’t gone above the lights of the ship yet, his circle was still wide and slow, but that didn’t mean that any dragon had spotted him. Of course, that was if any dragons were waiting for them.

Liberty swung wide on his next circle, eyeing the _Lemurian Star_. Everything was calm, which just made him nervous. He resisted the urge to roll his shoulders, not wanting to upset the STRIKE team as they got ready to make the jump to the ship. That didn’t stop him from turning his head back slightly, watching as they moved into their positions.

Natasha was crouched by the radio, probably talking back with the last dragon transport and having two dragons ready to fly. Liberty was sure that any back up would be needed just to haul the injured and prisoners away, the STRIKE team knew their business.

His skin twitched as Steve rested a hand on his neck, Liberty moving his attention back to his captain. He tipped his head further to the side, studying Steve’s face. Something was bothering his captain, but Liberty couldn’t tell right off the bat. Steve’s shoulders were tight and he was holding himself carefully, like he didn’t want the rest of the team to know how upset he was. His captain probably thought that it would hurt the team if he aired any of his doubts, like that would stop the STRIKE team from doing their jobs. But it would certainly hold Steve up.

Liberty hummed softly, the noise grabbing Steve’s attention. He saw Steve’s shoulders move in a sigh before reaching up to tap his comm. Liberty mimicked the move, rubbing the comm device close to his ear the same number of times to get to the right channel.

He was rewarded with another sigh from Steve, Liberty repeating the same noise. That seemed enough to coax Steve into speaking, although he kept his voice low enough to be picked up by the comm and nothing else. “There’s SHIELD agents on that ship.”

Liberty dropped his head to look at the _Lemurian Star_. “It isn’t a SHIELD ship, is it?”

“I wasn’t told otherwise, but apparently it is. But nothing in the reports said it was SHIELD or even SHIELD sponsored and it doesn’t have the right paperwork to be where it is.” Steve rubbed a hand over his face, staying silent for a moment. He sighed and shook his head. “We’re cleaning up Fury’s messes again.”

Liberty snorted, his gaze dropping back to the ship. Not all of their missions had been sopping up messes that seemed to come up in dealing with SHIELD, but Fury seemed to send them exclusively on missions that were simply mopping up a problem instead of anything else. Then again, he, Natasha and Steve were the most experienced and dealing with the stranger end of what SHIELD dealt with.

He flexed his talons, watching the lights flicker over the ocean. “Fury wouldn’t have sent us out if it weren’t important.”

“I know. But I’m tired of being told only part of the story. The briefing said nothing about it being SHIELD, just like the last one said nothing about the bunkers being old Hydra bases. Just like he didn’t bother to tell us about what Phase Two really was.”

Liberty growled low, stopping the sound quickly. He didn’t want the rest of the team to get nervous or take it as a sign that they were on alert for an attack. He snapped his mouth shut, waiting until the flex in his throat that usually came with him breathing fire was gone. He dropped his head low, breathing out carefully just in case. He sighed and looked back at Steve. “He has his reasons-”

“I don’t care.”

“Then at least wait until we’re done here.” Liberty lifted his head slightly, flicking his tongue out again. “There’s nothing in the sky or in the water, and I haven’t seen another boat.”

Steve went quiet again, dropping into a crouch on the base of his neck. He leaned out over Liberty’s shoulder, watching the ship. Liberty let Steve look, scanning the area.

Nothing was coming towards them, which was making him more nervous than if there was a whole wing of dragons heading for them. In his experience, the missions that were the quietest were the worst.

He jerked his gaze away from the sky when Steve leaned a hand against his neck. “Go lower, but stay clear of the lights.”

Liberty nodded and slid off the thermal that he had been riding on. He swung out, skimming low over the surface of the water. He heard a carabiner unclip, Liberty just having the time to turn his head before Steve was slipping over his side. He barely stopped himself from roaring in shock, his talons clenching and unclenching in fear. They weren’t high above the water, it was a fall that Steve could survive. It was just that Liberty couldn’t tell what was underneath the surface.

He stuck close to the surface until he saw Steve pop out of the water. Steve motioned for him to move off before swimming towards the _Lemurian Star_. Liberty snorted at the dismissal, but he moved to the next dying thermal. He used it to climb again, moving in a tight circle at the top of it before he beat his wings.

He could feel the rest of the STRIKE team clambering over his back as he moved into position. Liberty reached up to tap as his comm unit, moving it to the main channel. No one was talking into the comms, but Liberty could hear them talking amongst themselves. Liberty barely paid attention to their conversations until he heard Rumlow’s voice come over the comms. “We’re starting the jump.”

Liberty nodded and glanced down at the ship. He could see Steve moving through the ship, already engaging the hijackers. He snorted and straightened out his flight, making sure that he would pass over the ship low and slow enough that the STRIKE team could drop in without a problem. “Clear.”

He got a grunt as an answer before he heard the carabiners unclip and then the team was jumping away from his sides. Natasha was the last to go, the woman stopping at the base of his neck. “The radio is on standby. Keep an eye out.”

“I always do.”

She flashed him a quick smile before jumping from his back. Liberty ducked his head down to watch as she drifted down, waiting until he was sure that she had landed safely before counting out the STRIKE team. All six of them were on deck, all of them rushing into position. Steve was the most visible, his shield flashing in the lights of the ship.

Liberty watched long enough to see that Steve was safe before rolling over to get out of the lights. It was too dark for his light blue belly and wings to be used as camouflage. If anything, the lights would catch on the white stripes along his topline, wings and the fronts of his legs and show him off.

Liberty grunted as his beat his wings harder, rising above the lights and starting his careful circling. As soon as the deck was clear he would duck down again, even though he hadn’t spotted any guns on the deck. Then again, it wasn’t surprising considering that it was a satellite launching platform. Considering that most of the agents on board were scientists, Batroc and his mercenaries didn’t need much to keep the ship under control. And, since there hadn’t been an immediate response to the taking of the _Lemurian Star_ , Batroc might have thought that he was safe.

He growled low in his throat, glancing up at the sky for a flash of scales or the sounds of wingbeats, but there was nothing. He lifted his lip in a snarl before shaking his head. Maybe Steve was right about the mission feeling wrong. First Fury didn’t tell them the full extent of what they were going into, and then there was no defense for a dragon crew. Liberty didn’t think that Batroc was stupid enough to believe that he would get away with stealing the ship or that SHIELD would have just sent agents without a dragon. Liberty was sure that any mercenary that had survived so long if he thought like that.

Liberty came out of his roll, scanning the deck. The STRIKE team had abandoned it, already starting to drop down to the sides. He couldn’t see Steve or Natasha, but he had heard that Natasha was taking care of the engine room. He eyed the ship from above one more time before snapping his wings shut and diving.

He pulled himself up before he hit the water, sticking close to the surface as he took in the operation from there. Liberty made sure to stay away from where the STRIKE team was setting themselves up. Over the radio he could hear each member checking in.

“Liberty?”

“Circling in.”

“Be on deck as soon as they move.”

He gave a rumbling reply to Steve’s order. He craned his neck, trying to pick out a clear spot where he could land and defend himself without poking his head too far above the edge of the ship. He didn’t get the chance to look too hard, because Steve was talking again, his captain’s voice taking his full attention.

“Has anyone seen Natasha?”

Liberty glanced at the portholes as he sped by, shaking his head. “No. I haven’t heard from her either.”

He heard Steve made an annoyed sound before he went back to trying to get her attention over the comms. “Natasha, what’s your status?”

Liberty listened to the exchange, glancing between the open sea and the STRIKE team still crouched against the sides of the ship. He saw them tense where they were, Liberty feeling their nervousness. If any of the mercenaries looked out the windows, they would spot the team in position. More importantly, they would spot him. His markings would be easily spotted and Liberty was sure that they would know where he had come from. The only breed that looked like him was the Honneur-d'Or, but those were certainly few and far between so far out east and he was in no way the same yellow-gold color outside of his bright colors, he was blue-grey.

He tensed on his next sweep past the portholes, ready to spin himself away or drop into the water to avoid being seen. He didn’t get the chance to, the comm rattling to life against his ear before Natasha spoke up. “Engine room secure.”

“Right then.” Liberty could hear the annoyance in Steve’s voice, but he didn’t get the chance to comment on it. “On my mark. Three…two…one.”

Liberty beat down hard, moving away from the surface with a spray of water. He could hear the sounds of guns being fired as the STRIKE team shot down their targets, but he didn’t linger over the sounds long. He was too busy launching himself onto the deck of the _Lemurian Star_ with a roar. He felt fire build at the back of his throat, but it kept it penned in. Just the sight of a dragon about to breathe fire was usually enough to make anyone on a ship strike. It didn’t matter that ships weren’t made of wood anymore, there were still plenty of things to burn.

He spread his wings, trying to make himself as big as possible as he stepped around the equipment that was left on the deck. It was hard to avoid them, especially since the crew had piled them on the deck. Liberty didn’t know if they hadn’t gotten the chance to move the crates down to the hold or if their place was on the deck. He carefully rocked his weight forward onto his front legs so he could step up onto them and then off. He curled his tail around them, turning his head from side to side and he watched for the mercenaries to come running up to them.

 Liberty wasn’t surprised when no one came rushing towards him, especially with the way that Steve had torn through them. He could see the outstretched arm of one of the unconscious men, Liberty taking a cautious step forward so he could get a better look. From what he could see, everyone that Steve had run into was staying down. Liberty stretched his neck out, watching the men for a moment more before stepping over to the side of the ship.

The _Lemurian Star_ listed under his weight, Liberty ignoring it as he spat the fire that had gathered at the back of his throat over the side. He couldn’t hold it back for too long, not without injuring himself. He wanted to be able to breathe fire if the rest of the team needed it, although he couldn’t imagine why, the STRIKE team was competent at their jobs. Liberty shot a glance down the side of the ship, watching as some of the STRIKE team climbed back up to the deck. One of them glanced his way before signing for him to wait, Liberty rolling his eyes at the signal. He had probably been on more missions than all of the STRIKE team combined, he knew when he had to wait.

Liberty snorted and backed up to the center of the launch deck. He glanced around before lowering himself to the deck. There was no need for him to keep standing and risk upsetting the ship with any of his movements. He could defend himself just as well lying down as he could standing up, although it would be hard for any of the mercenaries to get to him with the way that he was wound in and around the crates and other equipment on deck. He swung his head up to look at the command center at the back of the deck, shaking his head at the broken window at the front.

That was a clear sign that Steve had been that way, and probably mildly successful. Knowing Steve, he was running after Batroc himself.

Liberty huffed and flicked his tail more closely around a stake of crates, resettling his wings on his back. He kept his head up, glancing around the ship as he listened to the sound of people rushing around. Liberty couldn’t tell if it was the mercenaries in retreat or the STRIKE team helping the hostages up. If it was the latter, Liberty didn’t blame them for running. He hadn’t been able to see too far into the portholes, but it had been enough to see the way that the hostages had been bound. He flicked his wings out slightly with a shiver.

He had missed out on the use of storm chains during his first tour of duty in Europe, but on the way over for the show they had caught a storm. He remembered being secured to the deck for the duration and he had hated it, mostly because he hated the feeling of being restrained even if it was the one thing keeping him from tumbling off into the ocean. As soon as they had been taken off he had been ready to take to the skies just to shake off the feeling of being tied down.

Liberty shook his head to clear it, looking back towards the stairs that the noises were coming from. He could just see the first few people coming out from the stairs when Rumlow’s voice came over the radio.

“The hostages are heading your way. Carpenter and Dalton are escorting them. We’re working on the mercenaries now. Be ready to load up as soon as we’re there.”

Liberty made a wordless sound of agreement, lifting himself up slightly to tug the tent out from his belly netting. It wasn’t the best cover, not like the new modules that Stark Industries made for dragons or the ones that the airlines used, but it would keep them until they got to the nearest dragon transport. Most of all, it would be cover for any injured SHIELD agents and then for his own crew while he hopped from dragon transport to dragon transport back to the United States.

He nudged the tent out away from him before settling down. “Any word from the Captain?”

“No. Nothing from Widow either.”

Liberty hummed to himself, about to ask for Conner or Bill to start looking for them when there was an explosion from the back of the ship.

He jumped to his feet, nearly leaping off of the ship and into the air. Liberty just barely tamped down the instinct, but he remained standing as he looked around for the source of the sound. He barely paid any attention to the people crouched in the stairwell, his focus on finding Steve.

Liberty could see smoke wafting from a room towards the back of the ship. He turned carefully in the small spaced allowed to him, intending on storming to the back of the ship and investigating the explosion. He wanted to believe that it wasn’t Steve, but he knew his captain too well to really convince himself of that. If there was an explosion, Steve was probably at the heart of it.

He shifted it place before growling at reaching up to swipe at the comm unit attached to the side of his head. “Steve? Steve, what’s going on?”

“I’m alright. Returning for extraction.”

Liberty hissed, more annoyed by the fact that Steve hadn’t answered his question than by anything else. He turned back around, resolutely ignoring whatever was going on with the smoking room. If Steve didn’t want to talk about it, then that was fine by him. He would stick to the mission as outlined by Fury. The director might not have been entirely truthful with him about the parameters of the mission, but at least it was better than Steve purposely withholding information about what was going on in the mission currently. Steve should have known better.

His tail lashed angrily in the air before he could stop himself, Liberty ducking his head and forcing himself to relax. Humans were always careful about approaching an angry dragon, and he knew that they needed to be off the _Lemurian Star_ as quickly as possible. He grumbled to himself as he settled down on the deck again.

Carpenter and Dalton jogged over to him, the two of them holstering their guns before they grabbed the tent and swung up onto his back. A few of the SHIELD agents joined them, the six of them hauling the tent onto Liberty’s back and attaching it to the harness. The agents remained on board, pushing the tent up into place while Carpenter and Dalton slid back down to the deck. The two of them started to organize the agents on the deck, walking through and checking for injuries. A few started to walk over or be helped over to an assigned space. Liberty assumed that those were the agents that they would be taking back. The rest would probably stay to guide the _Lemurian Star_ back to port. Although, knowing SHIELD, they would probably just continue on their mission.

Liberty tilted his head to the side, watching a few of the agents talk amongst themselves. Order was already being restored to the ship, which meant that they would be heading back soon.

He turned his head to peer into the tent, the agents locking the last of the poles into place before they rushed out and started to motion for the injured to be carried up.

He held as still as he could during the transfer, not wanting to risk any of the injured agents slipping. From what he could see, none of them were too badly injured, he could smell blood, but not in copious amounts. Some of the agents were holding their arms awkwardly or limping, but they were all able to get onto his back with only a little amount of help. Liberty could hear them being clipped into place, not bothering to turn his head back to watch the process. It was basic training for all of them, and it would end in a short hop. With the way that the _Lemurian Star_ had been traveling, it couldn’t be more than an hour’s flight to the nearest dragon transport.

The prisoners were the next to be loaded, most of the mercenaries bound and woozy. Liberty gave them a nervous look, hoping that they wouldn’t throw up on his back. He wouldn’t get the chance to clean off until they got back to the United States and, by then, Fury would be demanding to know when they would be back.

He curled his claws into the deck of the ship, stopping himself from putting enough pressure to start to push the deck in or ruin his talons. He wasn’t quite ready to forgive Fury for leaving things out of their briefing, and it was just enough anger to get him to dawdle, if Steve would allow it.

Liberty ducked his head, lifting his lip enough that the mercenaries could see his teeth. He doubted that any of them were so unused to dragons that they would be frightened, but he was going for a threat. They would have him to deal with if they tried to break free. Although, from the looks of them, none of them would be willing to put up a fight. He snorted and dropped his lip over his teeth, but didn’t stop glaring at them as the STRIKE team marched them onto his back.

They were clipped into place underneath the tent, Liberty hearing Carpenter and Dalton talking about dividing the weight equally. Liberty was almost tempted to tell them not to worry about it. The human weight they were loading on was negligible compared to the things that he had hauled before.

Liberty perked up when he heard footsteps coming his way. He swung his head around to look at who was coming, stretching his neck out as far as he could to meet Natasha as she came up.

She reached out to run her hand along the top of her muzzle, stopping when her fingers came to rest above the ridge of Liberty’s eye. She smelled of smoke and fire, Liberty nudging her until she pushed his head away. “Stop it. You’re worse than Clint.”

“Just be glad I didn’t charge in.”

“Believe me, I am. You would have taken Steve’s side.” She gave him a final pat before walking around him to join the rest of the STRIKE team. Liberty watched her go, shifting in place nervously. There was something in what she said, something that he wanted to talk to her about, but she wouldn’t talk while the STRIKE team was there. The Natasha that he had gotten used to in New York, the one that he knew from his other missions, wasn’t around. She might go back to the Natasha he knew when they got back to DC, or she would keep her mission face on. If she was worried about him taking Steve’s side, then she probably wouldn’t stop until she was sure the way the wind was blowing.

He sighed and waited for Steve, huffing when his captain didn’t come along until everyone was loaded and the STRIKE team was running through their checks. Liberty was listening to Natasha call them in on the radio, to both the dragon transport for the agents and then back to SHIELD to report that the mission had been carried out.

Steve came striding over as soon as the last conversation was done, not bothering to look up at the agents on Liberty’s back. Liberty was sure that Steve didn’t look at him. His captain just clambered up onto Liberty’s back, resuming his place at the base of Liberty’s neck.

Liberty turned his head to look at Steve, surprised by the curt shake of the head he was given. “We have a job to do.”

He growled deep in his throat, turning his head back forward and scanning the deck. The agents were starting to clear out from around his feet, Liberty giving them the chance to move before he sprang into the air.

He didn’t waste time in circling, he knew the direction of the dragon transport, and he wanted to unload as many of the agents as possible as fast as possible. More than that, he wanted to get home. Liberty twisted slightly to stabilize himself in the wind, waiting just long enough to reorient himself before setting a fast pace back towards home.

* * *

Liberty came in low over the Potomac River, lifting his head slightly as he heard the wingbeats of the dragons lifting off from Ronald Reagan Airport. He tipped his head back to look at one of the dragons as it beat up into the air. Compared to the rest of its body, the dragon’s wings were huge. Light flashed on the top joint of the wings, Liberty looking at the bright red and orange that was striped with white. He thought he saw the dragon nod at him but Liberty didn’t return the favor, he was too focused on the looming bulk of the Triskelion in front of him. The effort of raising his wings was getting harder by the minute and Liberty hated how much he was panting.

The orders to get back to the Triskelion in double time had come to them somewhere in the Midwestern covert. Liberty didn’t remember the name of the place, all he knew was that he had laid down to catch a short nap and that the nap had been made shorter by Jack Rollins waking him up with their new orders. It was a flight that Liberty could have made easily, if he was left to his own pace, but apparently there was some urgency in him getting back.

He sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady out the pattern of his breathing. He managed to get it to something that wouldn’t worry Steve when he captain dismounted. It also kept him from feeling his age. He was coming up on his first century and still making flights like he was a young dragon without the aches and pains of four different wars. Liberty was sure that Fury would point out that he had flown the same distance multiple times for Tony, but that had been done with only his breast collar and Steve, not a full crew and prisoners. Getting back to the Triskelion to wait for his next mission didn’t have the same pull of desperation, especially when it meant that he would just be sleeping and eating. If he wanted to do that, he could settle himself in a covert or up in New York. The Triskelion dragons were friendly enough, but he missed Fergal and Viatrix. It had been two years since he had seen them last, and that was longer than they had ever been apart before.

Liberty huffed, shaking his head to get his attention back on the task at hand. He swept his wings up to gain the last bits of altitude to gain the landing platform. His landing was jarring, his weight dropping down on all four legs. Liberty grunted at the impact, stumbling forward a step before he caught himself. It wasn’t his best landing, but Liberty didn’t trust himself to balance on his hind legs long enough to land in a more comfortable way.

He dropped his head with a sigh, remaining still for a moment to test his balance before lowering himself to the ground. Wearily, he folded up his wings, watching dully as the ground crew rushed out. He could feel people scurrying over his back, but he didn’t pay them much mind. He had gone through the clearing process so many times that he could sleep through it. Liberty was sure that he had at one point in his life. He hummed and lowered his head to the rest on the landing pad.

There were a few curses as the prisoners were hauled from his back, Liberty watching as they were marched through the dragon bay. He could hear a few growls as the other dragons recognized what they were. It was an intimidating walk, which Liberty guessed was the point. From there, it would be through to the holding cells. Liberty tipped his head to the side, listening to the growls to identify which dragons were present. From what he could hear, most of the dragons were in residence save for Blaze of Glory and Decus, one of the Narragansetts. They had probably been sent out on a mission while he had been out.

Liberty resettled his head, listening to the rustle of canvas as the tent was stripped down and removed from his back. Everything else would stay on his back so he could walk the items closer to their storage spaces. The humans would get down long before that as the tunnel through to the dragon bay dropped slightly. Glorior and the shorter of the lightweights could squeeze through with their crews, but the low ceiling was made for a choke point to save the Triskelion from dragons landing and rushing in with their crews. He eyed the space, his attention drifting to where the STRIKE team was starting to go back into the Triskelion. Most of them were involved with whatever conversation they were still carrying on, only Conner slowing down to pat Liberty’s nose in thanks. He was gone before Liberty could lean into the motion, Liberty staring after him.

He didn’t have long to linger over his disappointment because he felt Natasha slide off his shoulder. Liberty shifted his head so he could see her, relieved when she kept her hand on his side. She dragged it along his side as she walked up to his head.

She had been the one to talk to him the most on the way back. Steve had kept quiet the entire way back, either thinking over the situation on the _Lemurian Star_ or sulking. Liberty hadn’t been able to tell which one because Steve had motioned for him to keep his head forward. Liberty had stopped attempting to talk to him when they reached the west coast because there was no point, Steve was too lost in his own head to talk. Natasha had been on the radio and easy to talk to, especially when she made a point of fielding all dragon reports back to him. It had been an excuse for conversation, especially since Steve hadn’t been monitoring the radio for chatter.

Natasha stopped to rub at the back of Liberty’s jaw. He hummed happily as her fingers curled and rubbed at the scales there. Liberty was sure that she was looking him over, something that Steve usually did. As far as Liberty knew, Steve still hadn’t gotten off his back. Steve usually would have been down on the ground, checking him over, but he wouldn’t leave until the prisoners were all safely in.

He glanced over his shoulder at Steve, sighing when he saw that Steve was in the same position that he had been when they had lifted off from the covert. Liberty shook his head, Natasha arresting the movement with a hand on his jaw. He looked at her, amused by the nod she gave him. “Don’t worry about him.”

He went to huff, but Natasha took a better hold on his face. He could have easily pulled away but he didn’t, not even when Natasha turned his muzzle slightly so she could look directly in his eye. “He’s working on things, and he’s mad at me. You know how he gets.”

“It’s no excuse. It’s been days.”

“You know how he gets.”

Liberty glared at her for a moment before letting his head drop slightly so she was holding onto a little bit of the weight. Natasha raised an eyebrow and accepted the weight. She stared at him for a moment before moving a hand to stroke along the top of his muzzle. “It’s not on you, it’s on me.”

“But what did you do?”

Natasha shook her head and gave him one last pat. “All lies well?”

It took him a moment to parse out what she meant, sighing when he figured it out. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but at least it was something. “All lies well.”

She nodded and walked away, Liberty staring after her. Natasha probably had to debrief, just like all of the members of the STRIKE team. Just like his captain had to. Someone would have to come down and talk to him if they weren’t waiting for him down by his stall. He would be debriefed while the ground crew took of his harness and prepared his food, not that he’d have much to report. There weren’t any dragons and nothing that he could tell them about that the STRIKE team couldn’t describe better. Liberty was sure that the humans would wave off the lack of dragons, because there wasn’t always air support, but something about it didn’t feel right to him. He was sure that Steve would have caught onto the strange absence, if he could get Steve’s attention back from whatever was occupying his mind. As it was, Steve was still sitting on his back while the last of the prisoners were lead away and the ground crew had assembled to wait for Steve to come down.

When Steve didn’t move, Liberty turned his head, watching his captain tap out a rhythm on the edge of his shield. The motion didn’t shock him out of whatever he was thinking about. Liberty reached back further, unable to completely reach where Steve was at the base of his neck, but it was certainly close enough for Steve to jump when Liberty spoke so close to his face. “Steve.”

His captain looked around, Liberty sighing when he saw Steve get a better hold on his shield. It took Steve a moment to realize where they were, Steve frowning before unclipping from the harness. He slid down Liberty’s shoulder, hesitating there for a moment before storming off.

Liberty crooned and leaned after him, expecting Steve to turn around and say something, but his captain was already gone. Liberty rocked his weight back, watching his captain’s retreating back. Steve almost matched the rest of the STRIKE team in their dark uniforms. Liberty missed the bright red, white and blue, for more reasons than it matched his own colors, but he wasn’t vain enough to mourn the loss of the colors completely. From his own experience, he knew how hard it was to hide his coloration. But Steve didn’t look like himself, he just looked like another agent.

He sighed and pushed himself off the ground, walking down into the corridor into the dragon bay. He didn’t pay too much mind to the ground crew trailing after him, his mind was too focused on his captain. He had thought that Steve would be alright after New York, that he’d had the time to adjust to the modern world. But he was drifting again, and Liberty didn’t know what to do about it.

Liberty ducked his head as he walked through the choke point, his attention drawn abruptly to the dragons in the bay. He would had preferred a few more moments to himself, but it was impossible with the action going on. Dejudicavi was standing in the aisle, taking up half the space as she was put into harness. Her head was bent forward to speak to her captain, the woman dividing her attention between the Narragansett and the ground crew that was calling for her attention.

Dejudicavi’s distraction didn’t last long, she lifted her head as Liberty started walking past. He saw her wings flutter, but the Narragansett kept them close to her sides. “You’re back already? We weren’t expecting you for days.”

Liberty lifted his wings slightly in a shrug. “Fury called. I had no choice.”

“Do we ever?” Dejudicavi sighed and let her head hang for a moment. She snorted a moment later, giving her captain a glare. “I can say that if I want, Marie. You say the same thing all the time. It’s not that much different for dragons.”

Liberty chuckled, watching Captain Wolanski shake her head. He didn’t get a chance to finish his conversation with her because the ground crew was motioning Dejudicavi away and her crew was starting to file out. The Narragansett pivoted in place, Liberty having to hop awkwardly into his own stall to give the lightweight the space to start walking out to the landing pad.

He was almost tempted to call out and ask her where she was going, but the dragon already looked focused on her mission. Her head was bent over, looking at the pad that her captain was pointing at. Liberty quickly looked away and dropped into a crouch when the ground crew motioned for him. He would hear about it as soon as the dragon got back, it wouldn’t be that long of a wait. Dejudicavi rarely flew long distances, so she would be back in a few days as opposed to the week that it had taken Liberty to get out and back.

Liberty muttered his thanks to the ground crew as they dragged the equipment off, leaving him in his breast collar. He glanced down at the two bars pinned to his breast collar, checking on their shine before finally settling down. He let his wings fall open a bit, relaxing the joints as he rested his head on the padded section at the front.

Amoena crooned from the stall beside him, her head snaking out into the aisle so she could get a good look at him. “You going to make it, old man?”

He lashed his tail, not caring that Amoena couldn’t see it. She would be able to hear it well enough. She laughed and pulled her head back into her stall. “I thought so.”

Liberty readjusted himself, pausing when he heard a snort from down the way. He tipped his head to the side, sighing when he saw Proclamation of Freedom raise her head up above the small dividing wall between her and Glorior’s stall. Liberty glared at her, not surprised when the younger Firecracker yawned, showing all of her teeth in a subtle threat. She made a show of her yawn, snapping her mouth shut a while later. She examined her claws for a moment before tucking them away. “It’s not that long of a flight, not when you know how to fly right. Of course it takes longer when you are muddling through the air like some of those airplanes that the humans keep trying.”

She finished with a flick of her wings, Liberty sure that she was trying to show off their length, but it was easy to ignore it. Proclamation of Freedom was a young dragon and she had probably been kept back a bit too long because of SHIELD shuffling around. She had a captain now and a crew, but she still wasn’t being sent out regularly. Liberty was sure that, if she was ever let out for anything other than patrols around DC, she would stop commenting on everything.

When he didn’t respond to her, Freedom huffed and sunk back behind the walls. Liberty watched her go, rolling his eyes. One day she would learn. If not, then she would at least be sent away so the rest of them could be left alone.

He resettled his head, not surprised to see an agent walking over to him with a tablet tucked under her arm. Liberty gave her a slow nod. “Agent Coleman.”

The woman nodded in return, taking her tablet out from under her arm. She scrolled through whatever was on the screen, Liberty annoyed by the way she held it away from him. Agent Coleman was there for his briefing, but it was hard to share information when she wasn’t giving him what the rest of the team was talking about.

He resettled herself carefully, sighing when she finally tilted the screen towards him. Liberty tipped his head to the side, studying the map that she was showing him. He could see the approximate position of the _Lemurian Star_ and a feed of names and pictures scrolling down one side. The font was too small for him to read, but he assumed that it was either the agents that they had saved or the prisoners that they had brought back.

Agent Coleman was quick to answer his unsaid question, her fingers resting on the scrolling list to stop it from moving. “From what we’re getting from the prison detail, you managed to round up all of Batroc’s known associates. Without them, he should be easy enough to find, even if we have to send out another team.”

Liberty tipped his head to the side, looking over at Freedom’s stall. “She could use the practice.”

He thought he heard the woman smother a laugh, but she didn’t show any other signs that she had heard him. Instead, she lifted her finger from the list of names. They stared scrolling again, Agent Coleman not paying attention to them. She was looking at the placement of the _Lemurian Star_ , her head tilted in the way that meant that she was listening to something coming through the comms. It was habit to reach up for his own even if it wouldn’t be on the right frequency. The woman was probably listening into the debriefing that was going on a few floors above him.

She nodded at something she heard before tapping on the pad. Liberty tipped his head to look at the tablet, the agent moving the screen so he could see it. Liberty expected her to continue with her work, surprised when she started talking to him. “They’re reporting that there was no problem retaking the ship.”

“None.” Liberty flexed his claws. “There weren’t any dragons.”

That made Agent Coleman’s fingers pause on the tablet. She glanced up at him, looking him over like she realized that he hadn’t come back with any injuries. She shook her head. “None at all?”

“If there was a dragon, it was gone when we got there.”

“That’s unusual. Batroc usually has ferals following after him. Are you sure you didn’t see any of these?” She turned the tablet towards him, Liberty having to lower his head close to the table to see the pictures of the dragons.

He shook his head at the pictures, trying to fix the few bits of bright markings that he could see in his mind for later. “None of them were there.”

Agent Coleman muttered a curse under her breath, abruptly shutting down the tablet. It was tucked back under her arm, the agent taking a deep breath to calm herself. She gave him a brisk nod, Liberty taking it as his dismissal. He sighed and let his head drop back down. Now that things had gone wrong, there would be a rush to send out another dragon and chase down Batroc himself, probably starting with the ferals that he usually worked with.

If he hadn’t just flown over the entire country, he would have wanted to be sent out after Batroc himself. It was his mission, and they hadn’t finished it.

Then again, they had only been sent out to free the _Lemurian Star_ , securing the hijackers and taken them away was just part and parcel of the job, or so he supposed. He hadn’t gotten the orders to turn around and chase after Batroc, so he had assumed that the freeing of the _Lemurian Star_ had been the important thing. Apparently not, because there had been something else going on with the mission, something big enough to anger Steve enough to make his captain sulk all the way back. So maybe freeing the _Lemurian Star_ hadn’t been the point of the mission, or the only point.

He curled in on himself, staring at the wall that divided his stall from Amoena. He was used to missions with multiple people working on multiple goals, it had been the staple of SHIELD back when it was still the SSR simply because they didn’t have the dragons to spread out everywhere. But even in those cases the acting head had known exactly what was going on, and Steve had known nothing. It wasn’t like they didn’t have the dragons and the crews for it. It was suspicious and something that he hadn’t expected of Fury. The director might have secrets within secrets, but it was usually for a purpose. Liberty trusted Fury, although not as much as he once had.

Liberty tucked his head under his wing, breathing out in a long sigh. It was a problem that he would have to work out, and one that he resigned himself to not getting an answer to. Fury might have served as his first lieutenant once, but even that wasn’t enough now. The director of SHIELD was bound to be busy, too busy for a single dragon even Captain America’s dragon. Besides, he had just been Captain Sentinel of Liberty longer than he had been Captain America’s dragon, and that was the rank that mattered within SHIELD.

He curled his claws into the soft matting of his stall. It sounded like he would have to wait again. Things might sort themselves out, or they might not. Whatever it was, it was out of his hands at the moment. Another dragon would be sent out to chase after Batroc and his ferals. The _Lemurian Star_ was still in use and would continue to sail for whatever SHIELD needed her for. He would hear it all when things were done. Maybe by then, Steve would have worked through what had made him so angry, or maybe not. It was more likely that they would be sent out to chase the next problem.

He sighed again and closed his eyes, giving into the exhaustion that tugged on him. Eventually the ground crews would bring him food, and he would wake up for that. Until then, he would sleep and try to recover from the long miles he had flown.

* * *

Steve strode down the hallways, trying to shake the image of the three Helicarriers from his mind. It wasn’t too hard to imagine them hovering over the United States. He had seen dragons coasting over Germany and France and the terror that they had inspired. It didn’t matter that the dragons wouldn’t have been landing, the fact that they were there carrying their guns and bomb had been enough. The Helicarriers would be worse, because they weren’t intelligent. There had been plenty of cases of German dragons landing and refusing to carry out their orders, but there would be no quarter spared with the Helicarriers. Project Insight was terror without the chance of reprieve. It was terror on a scale that was all too familiar, and he was furious that Fury couldn’t see that. Or the man could and he was too cowed to do anything more than throw the past right in Steve’s face.

He clenched his hands into fists, feeling them shake with his anger. From his actions in New York, Steve had thought that Fury would be smart enough to avoid a scheme like Project Insight. Instead, he seemed to be willing to go along with it, he seemed to think that it was a solution. That kind of violence and fear was never a solution, and Steve was sure that he could scream that at the top of his lungs, but no one would listen.

He was tired of being shuttled from one mission to another with things being held back from him. He was tired of defending an organization that didn’t bother to trust their operatives, first with Phase Two and then with Project Insight. He was tired of trying to figure out if he was being lied to or if he was being told the truth. His job was to protect people and they were making that impossible, because he never knew if it was the right thing or if he was just playing right into their plans. It was enough to make him wash his hands of SHIELD, take Liberty and fly off.

As quickly as it had come, the anger faded away. Steve closed his eyes, the ebb of motion leaving him exhausted. The adrenaline had long since worn out from the fight, leaving him running on his anger. And now even that was gone.

He ran a hand down his face, stepping to the side as he leaned against the wall. He looked ahead of him, staring at the door that led to the part of the Triskelion dedicated to the dragons. They were barely ten feet from the project, which worried him. He had walked past the doors without a second thought so many times and had never wondered why they were locked so far down in the building. He didn’t even know if the dragons had been suspicious, he would have to ask Liberty.

Steve pushed away from the wall, heading for the doors. He wanted to get out of his suit and something more comfortable, something that wasn’t associated with SHIELD. And then, he wanted to check on his dragon.

He had neglected that long enough as it was, Liberty was probably wondering where he had gone. Staying away for the length of a briefing was one thing, staying away from longer would probably worry the dragon. Liberty wasn’t the kind of dragon to go charging through the Triskelion in search of him, but he would start getting curious.

Steve shoved open the doors, taking his first left to go to the locker rooms for the captains. His fingers were already working on the hooks and clasps of his uniform. He peeled off the top, staring at the star in the center before shaking his head and yanking open the locker. Habit was the only thing that kept him from balling the top up and throwing it into the back. He hung it up properly before working on his pants and boots.

It was a relief to get all of the heavy gear off. It had been made for flight, were he would be chilled by the altitude and the wind coming from his dragon’s speed. The cold didn’t affect him like it did others, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of it.

Steve shivered and tugged a shirt on, quickly getting dressed and shoving his feet into boots. He slumped down onto the bench, working on the knot in one of them when the locker room opened up. He looked up, nodding when he saw Captain McCulley rush into the locker room.

The other captain didn’t bother to do more than nod at him, his attention on his own locker and the clothes that he was hauling out. Steve raised an eyebrow at the rush and the heavy coat that McCulley pulled out. “Going up?”

He got another nod. “Thank God. I swear, that dragon is going stir crazy in there.” McCulley hauled his jacket on, patting down his pockets. “The flight will do her good.”

He was gone before Steve could ask anything else, although he was sure that he knew where McCulley was flying off to. He had heard that another dragon would be assigned to fly out to seek out Batroc, but he hadn’t known that it would be Proclamation of Freedom. He hadn’t paid much attention to the briefing once his part was done, he had been preparing to confront Fury.

Steve pulled his jacket on as he walked out of the locker room. He heard hear the bustle of the dragon bay through the last set of doors, something that usually would have made him turn and walk into the captain’s break room. There would be ground crew running around and a dragon in the aisle, but guilt drove him on. Liberty had made a long flight and he had just left him. It didn’t matter that Liberty’s wounds from New York had had time to heal, they had been called back quickly at a pace he hadn’t bothered to check. And Liberty wasn’t getting any younger.

He slipped into the dragon bay, sticking close to the side that Liberty’s stall was on. Proclamation of Freedom was already standing in the aisle, preening as she was harnessed. Her head was dropped down to talk with her captain, but her wings kept flicking out, stretching into the stall on the other side. Steve was sure that the dragon there was gone, or else she would have been nipped by the other dragon. He shook his head and stepped over to the divider into Liberty’s stall.

The dragon was curled up towards the back, his feed trough pushed towards the front. Steve leaned over to check that everything was gone, sighing when he saw that it had been licked clean. Liberty hadn’t gotten the chance to eat at the last covert they had stayed in, the dragon had preferred to sleep after covering the distance from the west coast. It looked like he was trying to catch up on that sleep now. Steve was reluctant to wake Liberty up just yet, the dragon needed his rest.

He sighed and slumped back against the wall, looking away when he saw Liberty’s head start to slip out from under his wing. Steve glanced at the ground before looking at his dragon, watching as Liberty lifted his head to look at the commotion in the aisle before he focused on him.

“Steve?”

He hated that his name was a question, like Liberty was confused about why he would be there. Steve just nodded and stepped closer to the dragon, ignoring the leg that was stretched out for him. Liberty looked down at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the commotion in the aisle. “They’re sending her out already? They must want Batroc more than they wanted that ship.”

“They wanted that ship, but for the information on it.”

“So that’s what we were really sent for.” Liberty’s tail flicked, the motion the only sign of his discontent. “I was wondering. What kind of information?”

“Something we don’t have clearance for.” Liberty huffed as an answer and lowered his head to look at Steve. The invitation was obvious, Steve almost wanting to laugh at it. Of course Liberty wouldn’t care about something like clearance. He sighed and reached up to touch the side of Liberty’s face. “It’s a project for world peace, something for eliminating threats.”

He watched as Liberty’s blue eye rolled to meet his, the dragons having to tip his head slightly to meet Steve’s gaze. “Which threats are they eliminating?”

Steve gave Liberty a long look before shaking his head. He wasn’t surprised that Liberty had picked up on the important questions, but he wasn’t about to keep answering them. Clearance might be a shaky thing for a dragon, but it wasn’t for the rest of SHIELD. He patted Liberty’s jaw before stepping away, which was enough for Liberty to know that the conversation was over.

The dragon huffed, the sound almost lost in the noise that came from Proclamation of Freedom leaving. Liberty raised his head against to watch the dragon go, and then he looked back at Steve. His foreleg was still extended in the offer of a seat, one that Steve would usually take.

He listened to the sounds of the ground crew settling back down. They were quickly drowned out by the wingbeats of the dragon as she took off. Steve had no idea where they had sent her, but he suddenly had the urge to join her. He couldn’t stand the thought of staying with SHIELD much longer, and the sky was calling.

Steve looked over at Liberty long enough to see that the dragon’s breast collar was still on. The ground crews rarely took them off, but there were times when the dragons preferred to go without them. Liberty’s was still on, Steve staring at the nameplate bolted into place at the front. It would be enough for him to hold onto, at least from the short hop from Roosevelt Island to the rest of DC. The chain around the back of the breast collar would be enough for him to hold onto if Liberty didn’t want to risk holding him in his hands.

Liberty nudged him, Steve swaying with the force of the move. Steve reached up to grab the dragon’s muzzle, holding it in place for a moment before he glanced down at the dragon. There was nothing that he could see that hinted that Liberty had done anything horrible to himself on the flight over, but lying in the stall in the basement of the Triskelion after a long mission couldn’t be what the dragon wanted to do. It would do Liberty good to stretch out in the sun.

He slid his hands up Liberty’s muzzle. “Want to go lay in the sun?”

The way that Liberty jerked his head up was an answer enough. Steve backed up, letting the dragon heave himself up to his feet. His head was twisted to look out at the sky, Steve surprised by the way that Liberty’s wings lifted slightly. It was clear that the dragon was eager to get out of the dragon bay, not that Steve blamed him. It couldn’t be natural for dragons to be kept away from the sky.

Steve stepped out of the way, watching as Liberty stepped over the front of the stall, letting his dragon walk ahead towards the landing pad. He waved away one of the ground crew when they ran up to him, Steve relieved when they let him go. He didn’t want to hear about staying for the follow up or because there was another mission waiting for them; not that he thought that Fury would send Liberty off after the flight he had made.

He picked up the pace, jogging out of the tunnel and onto the landing pad. Liberty was already there, his wings spread wide as he lifted his head into the wind. He looked like the statues of dragons that Steve had seen scattered throughout Europe, stately and majestic.

Liberty shook himself and the spell was broken, the dragon turning to look at Steve. He offered one hand, Steve easily jumping into it and bracing himself against the claws. Liberty seemed content to leave him there, the dragon crouching before leaping into the air.

His wings caught on the first stroke, Liberty grunting and beating them hard to stay above the river. Steve felt the moment when Liberty caught a thermal of warm air, the dragon’s wing beats steadying as he stretched them out to spiral up the thermal. Liberty didn’t drift too far, just far enough that he was below the usual flight paths of the dragons from the airport. Then he dropped his head down to look at Steve. “Where to?”

“Just over the river. There should be plenty of space on the Mall.”

Liberty pulled his head up and banked, Steve watching the river fall away under him to be replaced with grass and then the flash of white that was the Lincoln Memorial. He turned his gaze ahead, looking past the tall monument to the grassy squares that marked the National Mall.

Dragons were already sprawled out on the green areas between the paths, most of them looking like they were asleep. A few of them were awake and talking to each other, although they were still stretched out to enjoy as much of the sun as possible. People walked and jogged around them, all of them tiny in comparison to the dragons.

He reached out for a better hold on Liberty’s claws as the dragon turned, heading for one of the museums that lined the National Mall. He waited until Liberty had finish the turn before he leaned out.

There was only a few spaces left close to one of the museums, Liberty seeming to be aiming for one open spot close to the front of the museum. The rest of the square of grass was taken off with what looked like courier dragons, all of them starting to lift their heads as Liberty’s shadow fell over them. They chattered among themselves before shifting to the edge of the grass, letting Liberty settle down.

Liberty rocked back onto his hind legs, keeping his wings open to balance while he rocked forward to land on his foreleg. He set the hand that was holding Steve down on the ground, Steve quick to hop out so that Liberty could rebalance himself.

Steve backed away, not getting far before Liberty settled himself on the ground with a happy hum. His eyes were already falling shut even as he curled up on the grass. The smaller dragons were already settling in around him, although they kept to their close clusters. Some were even eyeing Liberty warily, like they expected him to snap at them if they got too close. Steve was sure that Liberty wouldn’t wake up even if one of them climbed onto his back. Steve gave Liberty a wave that he doubted that his dragon saw it. He tucked his hands into his pockets and started walking to the museum, coming up short when he saw the banners hanging on the outside of the National Museum of American History.

His own face stared back at him, Steve looking down at the exhibit name on the bottom. Captain America: The Living Legend Exhibit.

Steve was tempted to take a step back and walk the other way. Liberty would be sleeping for a while and there were plenty of museums that lined the Mall. Some of them were bound to be empty at this time of day, of human or dragons. He turned to look at the Air and Space museum, watching as a family, a lightweight dragon and a chick walked down the steps. The chick and the kids bounced away from the group, the lightweight quick to follow them. Steve sighed and reached up to tug on his hat, wincing when he came up empty. He had probably left it back in his locker, not that it would have stayed on during his short flight over to the Mall. He rubbed a hand through his hair before starting up the steps to the museum in front of him.

He kept his head ducked down as he entered the museum, taking a moment to marvel at the huge building. He was used to the museums in New York, which were just as large, but it was still amazing to see the size of the places. Steve glanced up as a middleweight peered at the flag on display before moving on with the rest of the crowd.

Everyone seemed to be moving in the same direction, the banners pointing him in the direction of the Captain America exhibit. For a moment, he was tempted to ignore the flow and move through the place at his own pace. Liberty would be asleep for some time, which left him to his own ends. Steve wasn’t sure if he wanted to be on his own, but it was better than trying to explain to Liberty what Fury had done. There was still some part of him that couldn’t comprehend how the safest solution was to kill any possible threat.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and trailed after the group heading for the new exhibit. Steve glanced around at the things that he passed, his pace slowing when he heard the familiar voice of President Ellis narrating his life. He risked looking up, something in his throat catching when he saw his old uniform. Steve cleared his throat, but kept moving forward.

The sense of unease that had been following him since he had left the Triskelion uncurled slowly as he walked into the exhibit. Steve took a deep breath and let it out slowly, surprised how much he relaxed. Then again, everything in the hall was his, it was all more familiar than the world that he had woken up to. It didn’t matter that the divide between the two was shrinking, he could still feel it.

There was a flow to the room that he could easily pick out, President Ellis’ voice bringing people through his life. Steve didn’t need to relive every moment of his own life, not when he still felt like wandering. The longer he moved, the more the uneasy feeling started to unwind.

Steve picked his way around the room, lingering on the things that caught his attention. One of the Howling Commandos’ equipment boxes was laid out with cards detailing what they had been used for. Steve leaned a little bit further over, staring at the harness that they had with the display, shaking his head at the uneven stitching. He remembered Dum Dum and Jim attempting to repair it before Gabe had taken over in desperation. He could see the exact point when the stitching became even again.

He moved away from the display, edging around the manikins of him and the Howling Commandos. A realistic looking model of Liberty was curled around them, some children standing by the model’s open mouth. They were reaching up to touch the teeth, the three of them muttering to each other as a pair of dragons loomed over them. The dragons stretched their necks out so they could touch noses with the model, almost like they expected it to move. Steve didn’t blame them, the model of the dragon was strangely realistic when compared to the other manikins. Then again, there was an equally less detailed model of a middleweight dragon with Liberty’s rig. It looked like one of his old combat rigs, but Steve didn’t want to get close enough to see which one. Steve guessed that one of the show harnesses was in the box in front of the model.

He moved around to the center of the room again, coming around to the glass-like column that had been put off towards one side of the room. Considering the layout, it was something towards the end of his time with the Howling Commandos. He had to get closer to the column to see the picture etched into it.

Steve stared up at Bucky’s face, ignoring the narration that was going on. He curled his hand in his pocket, resisting the urge to reach out and touch the exhibit.

He was used to the little things that would make him miss the people from the forties, things that he wanted to point out to them or things that Steve wished he could turn and ask what was going on. The ache hit him harder staring at the list of all the things that Bucky had done during the war, especially when he had looked at all the medals that would have been awarded to him. It would have been something that they would have joked about, that the medals were worth more than any payday that the two of them had received, and they had gotten them running circles in Germany. Steve could almost hear Bucky’s voice, pointing out that some of the actions listed weren’t even important, they were small skirmishes that meant nothing but a few weapons gained and more Hydra soldiers running.

He turned to look over his shoulder, some part of him so sure that Bucky would be standing there that he was shocked when he wasn’t.

Steve looked around the flood of people in the exhibit hall, feeling his throat tighten. The nostalgia was better than SHIELD, but he couldn’t handle it anymore. It was a carefully constructed version of the world that he had once known, and it was no comfort.

He turned on his heel and strode out of the exhibit, ignoring the others as he walked through the halls. Steve was sure that he heard his name whispered a few times, but he ignored it. It was easier to keep his head down and keep his steady walk down the hallways until he was back into the huge open hall at the front of the museum.

Stepping out into the sunlight was better, the chill of the air conditions replaced by warmth. Steve took a deep breath as he walked back down to the Mall, already looking for Liberty. He had no intention of dragging the dragon back to the Triskelion, not when they had barely just gotten out. It wasn’t Liberty’s fault that one of the few links to his past was too much for him to handle.

It had just felt wrong, being so close to the way that all his world had been while being so aware that it was all gone. The disconnect was too much.

He shook his head and made his way over to one of the low walls that surrounded a triangular shaped garden. Steve settled himself under the small tree there. He could see the dragons from his position, the bright colored hump of Liberty’s back unmistakable, even when surrounded with less brightly colored courier dragons. Steve sighed, watching Liberty’s sides rise and fall before directing his gaze down to the sidewalk.

He didn’t know what he had been looking for when he had walked into the exhibit, maybe some kind of familiarity or a reminder that he had done good things, even if they hadn’t been done without casualties. He might have been searching for a reason to prove Fury wrong. Steve didn’t know, he just felt like he was searching for an answer that he didn’t have.

Steve sighed and leaned back on his hands, his gaze drifting back to the banners for the exhibit. It was almost unsettling to find his own gaze watching him closely, especially when he was at a loss of what do to. He could push all he wanted, but Fury was an immovable force. He needed something more of a plan, something with more leverage to get Fury moving. The fact that he was Liberty’s captain wasn’t enough, there were ties of loyalty mixed up in there, ones that Steve didn’t want to touch. It was far more complicated than when Steve had just had to deal with Liberty’s first captain.

He stared up at the sky, watching the dragons fly over the capital. He could pick out the courier dragons darting to and fro among the other dragons. The lightweights would pull up and exchange angry hisses while the middleweights continued on their course. A few of the latter had bright red harnesses, and they flew lower than the others. One set down close to the edge of the Mall, people stepping off the loops and going about their business as the next load came on.

Steve tracked the people across the paths in the mall before shaking his head. He was coming up with nothing save for the same roiling anger about Project Insight and the lies that he had been told.

He groaned and reached for his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. He needed something to start him out of his circular thought, and there was only one person he knew that could do that. Steve hesitated, his fingers moving across the surface of his phone before finding her number before he could talk himself out of it.

The phone rang, Steve sitting still for three of them before he got up and started to make his way back to where Liberty was resting on the grass. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t pick up immediately, she had a life beyond him, family obligations. She was retired and Steve had no idea what she would be doing in the middle of the day.

He had almost convinced himself to hang up when she picked up on the other end. “Hello?”

It was amazing how the sound of her voice made him relax, Steve feeling some of the tension he had carried since the _Lemurian Star_ leaking away. “Hello Peggy.”

“Steve!” He heard her scrambling with something in the background, along with two other voices. He could pick out bits of words before they were cut off. “I was wondering when you would call. It’s been months since the two of you were up here.”

Steve winced at the reminder, picking his words carefully. “I thought you would be busy.”

Peggy huffed, Steve easily imagining the look of annoyance that would cross her face. “I haven’t been busy since I retired. It’s a chore.”

“You sounded like you were having a party.”

“I was conducting interrogations. It’s the only way I can get the news in this place.”

Steve frowned, slowing until he was sheltered in the shadow of one of the trees. “I thought you liked it there.”

“Oh I do, but I’m not used to having so much time to myself. The children come around often, but there’s only so much time I can spend attempting to knit. The other ladies are so pleasant, but getting anything out of them is like working at the SSR again. We should have hired them before.”

Steve laughed at that. He could imagine Peggy storming into the SSR with her coterie of elderly ladies. Considering the stories that he had been told, they would have caused a storm.

“That’s what I was waiting to hear. You weren’t quite yourself the last time we talked. Was it because of Liberty? How’s he doing?”

Steve glanced over to where the dragon was. Liberty had lifted his head from the ground, the dragon wide awake now. Steve had thought that Liberty would sleep more, but the dragon was talking to someone that Steve couldn’t see. He watched the dragon for a long moment before leaning back against the tree. “He’s doing better back on active duty.”

“He never liked being grounded, he never had the patience for it. But I’m glad that wing healed, I was worried about it. Liberty’s not getting any younger.”

Steve felt the lump come back into his throat, but he tried to ignore it. He had always known that Liberty was an old dragon, he had been old going into the war and he had been old when Steve had come out of the ice. But Liberty was only one hundred years old, so he had at least one hundred more years ahead of him.

He swallowed around the lump, managing to force it back. “He doesn’t act like it.”

“Of course not. He wouldn’t dare, not when he would be sent right to the breeding grounds.”

“Not if Tony has anything to say about it.”

“Well then, he’ll just be living in that eyesore of a tower. It’s better than the original, but don’t defend it, Steve.”

“It grows on you.”

“Traitor.” Peggy chuckled, Steve sighing at the sound. Her laugher subsided quickly, Peggy going quiet for a moment. When she did speak up again it was quieter than before. “You didn’t call to insult Tony Stark’s architectural choices. What’s wrong?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her everything, but it wasn’t Peggy’s fight anymore. She had done her bit and she deserved the rest.

“Steve?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just been a long few days.”

“Are they still pushing you hard? You can say no.”

Steve shook his head, glad that Peggy couldn’t see the motion. He couldn’t say no, not when there were three Helicarriers standing by, but he could have before. Once Liberty’s wing had healed, there was no reason why he should have stayed with SHIELD. He’d had an entire month with Liberty in New York to make up his mind, but he had come back to DC. Now that he thought about it, Fury had looked surprised that he had returned, but that hadn’t stopped the director for sending him right back out into the field.

He sighed, shifting the phone against his ear. “I was never good at just doing nothing, Peg.”

“I’m sure you’d find something soon enough.”

“And should I just drag Liberty with me?”

“He’s old enough to make his own decisions.”

The dismissal was easy, Steve sure that he would have agreed with it, but years in the war and out of the ice had gotten him used to having Liberty around. It was hard to consider a life that he didn’t have Liberty sticking close to him, because Steve wasn’t sure that Liberty would choose him. The Firecracker had been a part of the founding of SHIELD, certainly that was enough to keep him with the agency.

“I don’t know.”

“I do. It’s not your job to go running around cleaning up our messes.”

“They’re not your messes.”

Peggy made a sound that could have been agreement, but Steve doubted that he had won the argument so easily. He expected her to fire back, but her voice came through the phone muffled. It took him a moment to realize that she was talking with someone else. He dropped his gaze to his feet, tapping the toe of his boot against one of the tree roots until she spoke to him again.

“I hate to cut this short, but my grandkids just arrived.”

“No problem. I won’t hold you up.”

“This doesn’t mean we’re done.”

“Peg-”

“I’ll call you later. Just…think on it, Steve.”

She hung up before he could say anything else. Steve pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at the screen before tucking it back into his pocket.

He wanted to take her advice and distance himself from what SHIELD was doing, but now that he knew about Project Insight he couldn’t just let it go. Then again, Captain America demanding they shut the project down wouldn’t work, the name didn’t have much pull with people anymore, or it wasn’t the right pull.

Steve pushed away from the tree, walking over to where Liberty was still talking. Now that he was coming around the side of the dragon he could see that a group of people had gathered around. Liberty had his head low so he could talk to them on their level, which seemed to just be encouragement for the children that had gathered close to his muzzle. Steve could see a few hatchlings sitting on the ground, but they were at a distance and giving Liberty a wary look.

Liberty turned his head slightly, catching Steve’s gaze before he turned his attention back to the conversation. The dragon must have ended it because everyone started to shuffle away, some of the adults having to pick up their children to get them to move away. Liberty didn’t seem to pay them much attention, he was carefully picking his way through the sleeping courier dragons to join Steve on the path.

The Firecracker fell into stride beside him, the two of them walking towards the Capital. Liberty cocked his head to the side, but he didn’t say anything. Steve watching as Liberty adopted the pace of a dragon walking with a human, Liberty taking longer pauses between strides so Steve stayed close to the middle of his neck. He turned his head to look at the rest of Liberty’s body, watching for anything that would show that the dragon was off, but no motion looked short or like Liberty was in pain.

He looked ahead again, not surprised to see Liberty peering down at him. Steve didn’t bother to try and hide the fact that he had been looking the dragon over, it was habit between the two of them. That he hadn’t done his usual checks back at the Triskelion was the only difference. Steve sighed and reached up, smiling when Liberty met him halfway. “You could have slept longer.”

“My briefing didn’t last long and you were a while in coming back.” It wasn’t a chastisement, but Steve felt like it was one. If Liberty noticed it, the dragon didn’t say anything. It looked like Liberty was paying more attention to the dragons than to the humans. He kept his gaze on one of the few heavyweights on the Mall before he sighed. “I’ll have plenty of time later. They’ll probably rest me for a day before sending us out again.”

There was an opening for Steve to joke about what other ship that SHIELD could have lost, but he couldn’t force the words out. There would always be another mission, always something that SHIELD needed them to do. He hadn’t cared too much about it when they had started, it meant that he would be busy. That had seemed like the best way to keep himself from paying too much attention to what he had lost. It had gotten him back into the world again, into something like a routine. But another mission would mean more lies, more time for Steve to watch and look for every inconsistency. Maybe he would find more of Project Insight, or maybe he would find more of another project, a worse one.

He didn’t realize that he had stopped walking when he felt Liberty’s muzzle against his chest. The dragon didn’t push against him, but the touch was enough to bring him out of his thoughts. Liberty remained there for a moment before lifting his head away. “Steve?”

“It’s nothing.” The snort that he got in response told him that Liberty wasn’t buying the excuse. Steve sighed and shrugged. “It’s something that I’m working through. Give me a hand up.”

Liberty continued to give him a long look, but he flipped over his hand for Steve to step up into. Steve would have clambered up onto Liberty’s back, harness or not, but the dragon carefully held him off of the ground and away from the rest of his body. As a compromise, Steve wrapped his arms around one of Liberty’s claws. Liberty sighed and rocked back on his haunches. “Where to?”

He didn’t have an immediate answer to the question, other than not back to the Triskelion. Without a true harness for him Liberty would refuse to fly long distances, which ruled out making a trip to New York to see Peggy. There wasn’t many other people in DC that he knew, save for one.

Steve tipped his head to meet Liberty’s inquiring gaze. “The VA.”

Liberty blinked quickly, but it was the only sign of surprise that showed. The dragon curled back on himself slightly, the motion enough of a warning for Steve to get a better hold of the nearest claw. He secured a hold just as Liberty launched himself into the sky. The dragon gained height with easy beats of his wings, Steve glancing down at where some of the dragons were looking up. He saw a few of them bobbing their head excitedly before he looked back up at the air traffic above the city.

Liberty slid between the other dragons, finding a place for himself within the flow of the dragons. Steve heard a grumble from another middleweight, Liberty quick to turn his head and growl. Any other argument was curtailed by the sound, but Steve shifted his hold so he could pat Liberty’s scales. He heard Liberty grumble, but the dragon didn’t look at his neighbors, his head was down and scanning the buildings. Steve found himself mimicking his dragon, watching Washington DC slide by beneath them.

* * *

Liberty peered down at the sidewalk, watching as people cleared as he came in for a landing. They didn’t move quickly, too used to dragons landing and lifting up again. They were sure that they wouldn’t be stepped on. Liberty was equally as sure that he wouldn’t step on them, but he didn’t want to risk their safety or his captain’s.

He settled onto his back legs, dropping onto one foreleg before letting his other one down. Steve stepped easily down, Liberty glancing at his captain before looking at the building. Of all the places he had thought Steve would go, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs was not one of them. Liberty might still be in service, but Steve was stuck somewhere in the middle of active duty and reserves. He wasn’t even sure if SHIELD had managed to wrestle Steve from the army like they had done with him.

He took a step towards the entrance, pausing to look back at where Steve was still hesitating on the sidewalk. “Are we going in?”

“Yeah. Just, give me a moment.”

Liberty stared at Steve, halfway expecting the wave for him to go on. Whatever was going on with Steve was something that his captain would have to work out on his own. He ducked into the building, keeping his head low as he walked through the hall.

The building was made to accommodate the size of dragons, but not their height. Liberty shook his head, heading towards where he heard voices towards the back of the building. He breathed a sigh of relief when it opened up, Liberty slowing down at the sight of the large room tucked towards the back of the building.

Rows of chairs took up the front half of the room, even though only a few of them were filled. The back of the room was where five dragons crouched, three courier weights draped over two middleweights. Liberty stared at them, dropping his gaze when the oldest of the dragons looked at him. The move drew his attention to the white bandages that were wrapped up the dragon’s foreleg and neck. Liberty adjusted his right wing, trying to hide the burn scar that ran along the edge of it and the scar that rested under it.

He dropped his neck low and padded over to the half of the room that the dragons took over, curling himself tightly away from the others. None of the five looked disappointed, but one of the couriers made a quick hop over to his back, settling carefully on his shoulders. Liberty allowed the motion, his attention grabbed by the man at the front of the room. He had been aware that the man had been talking, but he hadn’t paid attention when considering the other dragons in the room.

The man’s gaze flicked to him, Liberty seeing his eyes widen a fraction before the man looked back to the door. Liberty followed his gaze, surprised to see Steve leaning against the doorframe of the room. He shifted to offer his foreleg, not surprised when Steve didn’t take it. The meeting didn’t seem like something that Steve would have walked into, not unless he had a specific reason for being there. Liberty scanned the room only to come up with no answer. He sighed and settled his head on the floor, letting the man’s words wash over him.

“Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse?” There were a few chuckles at that from the humans and one of the middleweights rumbled. The human nodded back at the dragons. “I’m sure we can whip up some designer bags for you. But it's up to you.”

The humans applauded, the middleweight tapping their claws against the floor. Liberty joined them, glancing around the room as the people started to stand up and walk towards the front. The man stepped around the podium he had been leaning on, clearly meaning to talk to all of them. He turned his head to look at the other dragons, surprised that they remained in their curl on the floor. There was plenty of room between the chairs and the door for them to leave, but none of them seem inclined to move. The older one was even studying him.

Liberty returned the favor, studying the dragon. He looked like a Yellow Reaper cross, the dragon a grey-ish yellow with green and white stripes along his sides and back. The pattern was broken up by a series of scars scattered along the side that Liberty could see.

The dragon gave him a slow nod before resettling himself, not seeming to notice the orange and blue dragon that was clinging to his back. “I haven’t seen you around here.”

Liberty was almost expecting the slow drawl that he heard in the dragon’s voice. He shook his head, shifting slightly to a more comfortable position. “I don’t really come here. I don’t think I qualify. I served, but they’re not quite done with me yet.”

“Ah.” The dragon nodded slowly. “I had that same problem. There’s always a struggle to let go of a dragon when they’re done. Here’s to getting out.”

“To getting out.” Liberty returned with his own nod, using the motion to turn and look at the courier on his back.

The little dragon bobbed nearly its whole body, its red belly bright compared to the dull browns of the rest of its scales. Liberty returned with his own nod of his head before turning his attention back to the middleweight. “Where did you serve?”

“Here and there, mostly Afghanistan. I hauled men in until I got tired of flying shrapnel. I’ve got enough embedded in me for a lifetime.” The dragon hummed to himself, the sound trailing off. “One ear hasn’t stopped ringing since the last run. I swear I keep hearing guns go off. Makes it hard to sleep.”

The dragon might have admitted it easily, but Liberty could hear the fear behind the words. Hearing guns all the time would put anyone on edge, and then came all the starts that would come from something that sounded close enough to a gun. Liberty rumbled in sympathy, his gaze sliding towards the other middleweight.

She cringed from his gaze, trying to curl up on herself, like she was trying to hide the bandages. Liberty kept himself from asking what had caused the burns, it was not something that she looked like she was ready to answer. He pressed his right wing closer to his side, turning his head to watch as the humans started to file from the room. Liberty was sure that the dragons would start leaving, but only the couriers hopped off and started following after the humans. The two middleweights remained sprawled on the floor.

The Yellow Reaper cross was the one to speak up again, his head tilted towards the female dragon. “We’re heading back to the same covert as soon as our heavyweight comes over. We’re staying until he comes around.”

“Covert?”

The dragon nodded. “I hoping for a farm one day, but I’m not up to it. And the covert doesn’t like a dragon that snaps at anything that sounds like gunfire. Besides, I can’t leave Iovita. If I don’t stand by her, then no one will.”

Liberty wanted to ask what had happed to Iovita’s captain, but he held his tongue. He could smell the salve that was on her burns and, beneath that, was the smell of still healing flesh. Iovita was lucky to be alive, and Liberty was sure that her captain might not have shared the same luck, or any of the soldiers that she had been traveling with.

He inclined his head towards the other dragon, sure that Iovita wouldn’t be up to talking with him. “I wish you both luck.”

“Thanks.”

Liberty got to his feet, about to walk over to where Steve was waiting when the Yellow Reaper shifted, the sound drawing his attention back towards the dragon. “You never said what you came here for.”

When he turned around to look properly at the dragon, the Yellow Reaper rolled his shoulders back in a shrug. “We’re all here because some part of the war didn’t leave us. I can’t stop hearing the guns. If you stick around, Iovita might tell her what haunts her. But what about you?”

Liberty was tempted to shrug the question off, because there wasn’t much that he couldn’t shake. It had just become a habit after serving as long as he did. He’d had to roll with it, or he’d go insane and then there’d be nothing left for him but to be shot. That’s what he had always been told had happened to dragons who couldn’t adjust again. He was aware that it didn’t happen as often, but the threat had been learned while he was young and hard to forget.

He went to shake his head, stopping when Iovita lifted her head from the ground. She gave him a long look before stretching herself out. Liberty stared at the white bandages, taking a step back as she spoke. “It’s fire for me. Anything like fire.”

Liberty felt his throat flex, quickly swallowing. He didn’t feel any fire in his throat, but he couldn’t imagine a fear of it. His fire had been something that had been a part of him since he had been born.

He lifted his foot away from her as Iovita stretched out her muzzle, keeping back from her. The dragon didn’t seem to take the motion as an insult, instead peering up at him with bright eyes.

“Falling.” The word slipped out before he could stop it. Liberty felt his wings jerk at the admission, but he kept them tightly pressed to his sides. Once the word was out it was easier in a way, because all he had to do was clarify it. “I’ve had…my crew keeps falling, but I’m never able to catch them.”

He flexed his claws, feeling them dig a little into the wood floor before he remembered himself. He wasn’t in the Alps, nor was he in New York as the portal yawned above him. He had solid ground beneath his feet and Steve just behind him. Everything was as it should be, except it wasn’t.

He sighed and turned away from the dragons, glad when Steve called his name. He lifted his head slightly, looking at where Steve was standing in the hall. Without a second look at the two middleweights, Liberty stepped through the door, having to keep his head low to remain in the hall.

Steve reached up to rest a hand on the side of his face, Liberty leaning into the gesture. If Steve was surprised by it, his captain didn’t show it. Steve’s fingers just sought out their usual places, Liberty rumbling low in his throat. He let his eyes fall shut, only opening them when Steve nudged at his cheek. “Liberty, this is Sam.”

He turned his head slightly, shuffling so he could curl around Steve without losing the feeling of his captain’s fingers against the side of his face. Liberty used the move to get a better look at the man.

Sam returned his gaze steadily with all the assurance of a man who was used to working with dragons. Other people might have kept their gaze on his jaws, something that he noticed that other humans did no matter how much time they spent around dragons. Sam was busy looking him over with the same wide eyed mix of joy and surprise that he was used to seeing from little children who ran across him. The expression didn’t last too long, Sam breaking into a grin and shaking his head. “Damn.”

Liberty snorted in answer, not bothering to puff out his chest. He took a step forward, flicking his tongue out to get a better gauge on Sam before nodding his head. “You’re the running man.”

“Oh, _I’m_ the running man? Have you tried keeping up with Steve?”

“I have, but it’s someone else’s turn.” Liberty gave Sam a dragon grin, impressed by the way that Sam didn’t step back in the face of all of his teeth. He let the gape of his mouth close slightly, relaxing a bit as Sam crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, I think.” Sam gave him a wary look, like he was trying to decide whether it had been a compliment or part of the joke. Liberty just nodded and leaned further into Steve’s arm.

He heard Steve grunt under the weight. Liberty ignored the sound; Steve would push him away if it became too much. Besides, Steve’s fingers were still finding the delicate skin on his face and scratching where Liberty couldn’t get at with his own claws. He crooned his thanks, his attention going back to Sam when the man spoke up.

“So, when you’re talking about getting out, are you bringing him along?”

Liberty perked up, glancing down at Steve. It took him a moment to catch up on the conversation, Liberty glancing around at the posters on the wall and the people that were still trickling down the hallway. He had never thought about Steve leaving the army, because he had never thought of Steve as part of the army, at least since the end of the war. Even during the war he had been part of an irregular squad. It was similar to what they were doing with SHIELD, although that had been somewhat more his idea than Steve’s. SHIELD was something that he had been a part of after the war, it had been the easiest place to go during his recovery and it had been habit to continue on with it afterward. Liberty couldn’t remember ever asking if Steve wanted to continue with them.

He glanced over at Steve, watching as his captain shrugged. “Liberty can make up his own mind.”

Liberty narrowed his eyes at the statement but didn’t say anything. Instead, he slid his gaze back over to Sam, sure that the man caught what Steve hadn’t.

Sam sighed and shook his head. “Whatever you decide, I wouldn’t mind seeing the two of you around. Especially you.” He pointed at Liberty. “That’s the first I’ve heard from Kilmer and Iovita talk at all. You’d think it would be harder getting the humans to talk, but it’s the dragons. They keep their mouths shut most of the time.”

Liberty nodded, keeping his silence about that. It was one thing to speak to a group of trusted humans, but to humans in general was dangerous. That was one way to get shot. The humans might know that dragons were intelligent creatures, but it was never too hard to convince them that they were just one step away from the brutal savagery that feral dragons were blamed for. Then again, it didn’t take too much for the humans to hate things.

He flicked his wings into a more comfortable position, carefully meeting Sam’s gaze. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“When they’re not running you around, right?” Sam shook his head. “You have place here if you need it and listening ears.”

Liberty swung his head around, looking at where Kilmer and Iovita were still lying on the floor. Kilmer had coiled himself around Iovita, his head facing the large window into the courtyard in the back. Liberty guessed that he was watching for the heavyweight that would take them back to the covert. From there he didn’t know what would happen to them, except that they might come back. He didn’t even know if they had a captain and crew to comfort them. At best, they would have the ground crews, which might take care of a few dragons. If they had come back with the soldiers they had served with there was no telling if they would ever go back to the covert.

He leaned into Steve’s touch, rolling one eye so he could see his captain better. He at least had Steve and the Avengers, but the latter were scattered about. Liberty swallowed back a mournful sound, surprised by the depth of the feeling. He had been alright before, but that had been because he had been happy to have Steve back. Steve’s return had been fresh and he had barely gotten used to Steve again. But now, two years later, he ached for something closer to what he’d had. A captain and a crew that wasn’t exchanged out after a few years. It was something that older dragon would want, and he had never had thought himself old, except that he was nearing the middle of his life and had nothing to show for it except for captain’s bars and the scars on his hide.

He must have made some noise because Steve stopped his scratching to dig his fingers into Liberty’s scales. It was a silent offer of support and one that he was glad for.

Steve held onto him for a moment before patting the side of Liberty’s face. He moved away, Liberty taking that as a hint that Steve had found what he needed. He remained in place long enough for Steve to walk around him and say good-bye to Sam.

Liberty waited for Steve to move away before offering his muzzle to Sam. The man was quick to reach out and pat it, Liberty catching the scent of another dragon before he pulled away. He caught Sam in the midst of another look of awe and surprise before he moved off, Liberty nodding to him. He kept his head low as he walked through the hallway, breathing deeply as he stepped out into the street.

He was quick to raise his head and tail, carrying the latter slightly higher than he was used to so people could walk by him unimpeded. He stepped forward so he was close to Steve, blocking his captain from the flow of foot traffic, not that Steve seemed to notice. He was too busy staring off into the distance. Curious, Liberty glanced down the street, but he didn’t see anything new or worth his attention. He snorted and shook his head, turning his full attention back to Steve.

“You’re thinking of leaving?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Liberty sighed and lowered his head so he could look Steve in the eyes. “Steve, are you thinking of leaving SHIELD?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Because of the last mission?”

“And other things.” Steve tipped his head to the side, breaking the eye contact. “You’re not getting any younger.” Liberty snorted in disagreement, but Steve continued on like he hadn’t heard. “And SHIELD isn’t the SSR. I thought it would be, but it’s something different.”

Liberty flicked his tail, careful to keep the motion far above the heads of the people walking past them. Some part of him was offended by the observation, because he had been a part of both, a founding member just as much as Howard Stark or Peggy Carter had been. Then again, he had been there since the start and he hadn’t thought anything of what he was doing, not until Steve had pointed it out. He wouldn’t have thought anything of Fury keeping things from him, because that’s how things had always been done. He was in charge of his mission, his crew and their objective, but nothing else.

He turned his head away with a growl, glaring at the roofs as he tried to calm himself. It wasn’t Steve’s fault that he was pointing these things out, it was his own for not noticing. Liberty was aware that things had changed over the years, threats and sensibilities, but he doubted that they had changed so much that he had to compromise himself every time he flew out with a SHIELD team on his back.

He jerked his head back when he felt Steve rest a hand on his leg. Liberty sighed but didn’t lower his head, choosing to look down at Steve. “So what do we do?”

Steve shook his head. “I’m thinking about me. I’m trying to get back into this world but there are some things I won’t do.”

“And I will?”

“You can make your own decision. You’re not tied to me officially anymore.”

“No.” Liberty glanced down at the captain’s bars on his breast collar, suddenly tempted to rip them off. But they were the only thing he had, the little bit of glitter that he had to himself. He resisted the urge to buff the bars with his nose, because Steve was sure to notice the motion and the point wasn’t that Liberty was officially assigned a captain. The official lists had nothing to do with his decisions. “But that means nothing to me.”

He was glad of the look of relief on Steve’s face. Liberty almost expected for Steve to say something, but his captain just tapped his leg, a signal for him to lift it up. Liberty complied, flipping over his hand for Steve to step into it. Liberty lowered his head to look at Steve, sighing when Steve reached up and pulled Liberty’s muzzle close. He pressed his forehead against it for a moment before pulling away.

Steve motioned for him to take flight without giving him a destination, but Liberty didn’t care. The sun was warm on his back and he didn’t mind flying for a few more hours, it would keep his muscles from cramping too badly. He would be sore in the morning, but it was something that he was used to. There were plenty of thermals that he could ride above the city, which meant that he could glide as long as his wings could hold him. Liberty had no intention of going further than the bounds of DC, not when Steve didn’t have a harness.

He launched himself into the air, beating hard to get above the usual traffic of dragons. He didn’t want to have to keep slowing and speeding up, not when he was sure that Steve wanted to use the time to think. His captain had already settled himself down in Liberty’s hand, staring at the city below, although Liberty was sure that Steve didn’t see any of it. Liberty gave the city below a quick glance before settling into the familiar pattern of riding thermals up and then sliding over to the next one when he needed to. It was an easy motion, a long glide save for the few times he had to beat his wings to move to a thermal that was a bit further away.

Liberty gave the skies a quick look over, scanning for other dragons that he would encounter before he let his mind drift. It would have been easy to let his mind just go blank and wait until he got back to Triskelion. Then again, it would be all too easy to fall back into his same patterns. It would be better to weigh what he was willing to put up with and what he really wanted to do.

The latter wasn’t too hard to figure out. What he really wanted to do was to take Steve and fly back to New York. What he really wanted to do was go home.

* * *

Sometimes he dreamed of dragons.

It was never a specific one, just a relative size and the rocking feeling of flight. Both were familiar. He would be woken, loaded onto a dragon and flown out. It was easy to adjust to that rocking motion, just as easy as adjusting his aim for the wind. Sometimes, he would allow himself to wonder what firing from the back of a dragon was like, but that was a thought that came while he was waiting, a problem that he could work through during the few moments of downtime between moving into position and getting the shot off. It was a safe calculation, because he didn’t have the information that he needed. That left him grasping with what he remembered.

He sighted down his gun, breathing steadily. It was his usual pace, almost to the beat of the wings of the dragons that were circling overhead. He didn’t bother to look up at them, his focus on the car that was bearing down on him. He eyed the distance, some small part of his brain running calculations on the speed of the car. A dragon could keep that pace, he was sure of it.

He breathed out slowly, his finger squeezing around the trigger.

The target was easy. He watched the car jerk before the nose went down. It skidded on its nose for a moment. He watched it rise, enormous and looming, and then he stepped to the side.

He watched at the car toppled onto its top, skidding a short distance. He watched it impartially, already loading again.

He would have preferred to have it over with in one shot, but he would always check. They had made it clear what they needed him to do. The person inside the car had to be dead.

He stepped up to the car, letting out his breath quickly when he saw that it was empty. He leaned in further, cursing when he saw the hole in the roof of the car and the street. He let his arm drop back to his side, flexing the fingers of his left arm. So it was to be a chase then.

A chase would have been easier on a dragon. He looked up at the thought, scanning for the dragons as he started moving away. None of them had started down, which was to his advantage. They would probably stay out of the way until the road was cleared.

He paused at a flash of red and blue among them, staring at the dragon and the human on its back before he shook his head. He couldn’t waste his time looking for dragons, he had his own mark to chase. They would come after him eventually, whether they were brightly colored like their rider or not.

* * *

 

Liberty grumbled as he woken up, lifting his head blearily from the floor. He blinked and looked around, surprised to find that he had fallen asleep with his head pressed against the side of his food trough. Liberty yawned, twisting his head to rub the crust from around his eyes with a foreleg. He shook his head, remaining curled on the ground, not quite up for moving. He wasn’t too sore, the easy flight over the city for most of the day before had worked out more of the stiffness. Because of that he hadn’t gotten much rest after his flight the day before. It was no wonder he was so tired, although he didn’t regret it. When he had set Steve down at his apartment, his captain had looked more relaxed than he had before.

He pulled his neck back, stretching the muscles there as he shifted slightly. He was still feeling lazy, like he was ready for another nap. Liberty almost laughed at that, taking the time to stretch out one leg, splaying his toes out. If he was starting to think like that, then maybe Steve was right to considering backing the two of them out of field work. If he was so exhausted after work that couldn’t think of anything but going back to sleep, then semi-retirement seemed like a good option.

Liberty glanced back over himself, resettling his wings into a more comfortable position. The motion brought his nose around and over his food trough, Liberty pausing at the smell that was wafting up from it. He jerked his head back, reaching out to pull the trough close so he could stare inside of it.

He was surprised to see that there was raw meat in the trough. There was the usual vitamin powder, but Liberty didn’t mind that. Without the pellets of mixed meat, vegetables and marrow he was sure that it wouldn’t taste like caulk. He licked his lips and lowered his head into the trough, his nostrils flaring at the scent of fresh blood. The last time he had smelled it had been when he had been in the first few weeks he had been in DC. The dragon surgeons had agreed that it wouldn’t do him much harm to put him on a raw diet, at least for the first week of recovery. Liberty assumed that Lozen had gotten the same treatment when she had come in with her burns, but no other dragon got the luxury. In fact, he was surprised that they weren’t putting up more of a fuss, especially Amoena. Certainly a female dragon with an egg would demand fresh meat or at least be interested in his food. But Amoena didn’t look over the short wall between their stalls.

Liberty paused with his head halfway into his food trough. He looked around, trying not to move his head too much as he tried to pick out what the other dragons were doing. He couldn’t see the dragons, but he could hear them.

Amoena was shuffling around in her stall, but never close to the wall that divided them, which was strange. The Dakota was a friendly dragon and would certainly pop her head over and talk about the mission. They hadn’t gotten the chance the day before, not when Liberty had been catching quick naps and then out all day. He stared at the wall dividing them before focusing on the other sounds.

He could hear the familiar voices of Blaze of Glory and Decus talking, Dejudicavi coming into the conversation every once and a while. It wasn’t anything more than gossip, Liberty catching snippets of names and the usual complaints about the food. Liberty licked his lips with a frown and moved his head from the food trough. He shifted so he could rest his head on the front of his stall, staring across to the other side of the dragon bay.

The beige and white side of Lozen was visible, the Paloosa dragon curled with her back to the aisle. Further down, he could see Glorior leaning out, the Winchester practically bouncing in place. But that wasn’t unusual for the courier breed. He was probably waiting for his captain so they could take out the first news of the day.

Everything was as it should be, save for the meat in his trough and the general quiet of the ground crew.

Considering the light that was coming in through the passage out to the landing bay, it was late in the morning. It was longer than he usually slept and certainly later than he was used to not seeing the ground crew out. He threw a glance back at the ground crew’s room, confused by the way that the door was slightly ajar, but he couldn’t hear the television that they usually had on for when they were working on the dragons’ harnesses. It could just be a slow day, but he had been at the Triskelion for two years and there hadn’t been one that could remember.

He hummed to himself as he swung his head back over his food trough. Liberty eyed the meat inside it, tempted to just dig in and eat it. There was no point in dealing with the fact on an empty stomach and no reason to let the meat go to waste. There was no question that it was meant for him, and the scent was making his mouth water.

Liberty ducked his head towards the trough, coming up just short when he heard the click of claws against the floor of the aisle. He snapped his mouth shut, lifting his head just enough to see over the wall.

All thoughts of eating were put out of his head when he saw Proclamation of Freedom and Captain McCulley coming back into the bay. Freedom was growling low in her throat, but McCulley was the one that looked and acted the angriest. He was pulling off his gloves and stripping his coat. He threw the two of them over at Freedom’s stall, waving the dragon in with a friendly pat to her side. “It’s not your fault. I just wish that someone had told us.”

“What’s going on?” The question came from Dejudicavi, the Narragansett sticking his head out from his stall. Liberty watched the dragon yawn, surprised that Dejudicavi was still sleepy. The dragon was usually the first one up.

Freedom didn’t seem to notice the change, she was too busy curling up in her stall. She sighed and rested her head on the front of the stall. “Nothing. My captain and I were sent out, but someone else had done our job for us. It was a good flight though, better than lying around here all day.”

Liberty lowered his head again, not wanting to be drawn into the conversation, not when he didn’t have anything to add. He curled his claws into the floor of his stall, his tail twitching violently as he thought.

Freedom had been sent after Batroc and, while the mercenary being captured early wasn’t a surprise, it was the fact that they had been called back. Certainly SHIELD would want to confirm that the man had been caught, especially if Batroc hadn’t been found by a SHIELD team. Liberty couldn’t think of a dragon team that was in that part of the world, not unless Fury was working another angle. That sounded like Fury, although it seemed sloppier than what he expected from the man.

He sighed, staring at the meat in his trough. He could ponder the question once he was done taking care of the pressing concerns of his stomach.

Liberty licked his lips, ready to snatch up the closest chunk when he breathed in the scent of what he was about to eat. Something didn’t smell right.

He tipped his head to the side, considering the smell and trying to piece together what was missing. The blood and the smell of fresh meat was cloying enough, but underneath there was something lacking. Liberty stuck his tongue out to taste the meat, licking his lips and considering the taste. It was beef, the small taste making his mouth water. He held his jaws shut, his gaze moving to the off white powder that had been sprinkled over the meat. He hadn’t thought that he would get away with not having to eat the vitamin powder, raw meat or not. He had gotten used to the taste of sweet potato with everything, except that the meat didn’t taste like sweat potato, it tasted like nothing.

Liberty pulled his head out of the food trough, suddenly uneasy with the offering. The shock shook off any exhaustion that had still be lingering, leaving him suspicious. He couldn’t remember tasting the sweet potato the night before either, but he didn’t remember much about the meal, he had eaten it and promptly fallen asleep. But he didn’t remember that it had been more chalky than usual. He tipped his head to the side, licking his lips. He was almost tempted to taste the white powder that had been dusted over the meat, but he kept himself from bowing to his curiosity. There was no telling what would happen if he tasted any more.

It was obvious enough that he had been expected to dig into the rare treat without questioning everything. Liberty wasn’t sure what would have happened, but it wouldn’t be too far off to guess that he would fall asleep again.

He snorted and shifted away from the food trough, almost tempted to tip it over. If he did that, then someone would notice and whoever was trying to keep him drugged and asleep would have to find another way to strike at him. Liberty wasn’t willing to risk a chance to catch whoever was attacking him, he didn’t want to spend the next few weeks staying on alert at all times. He didn’t have other dragons to watch his back, not that he disliked any of the dragons in the bay, he just didn’t know them well enough to trust him.

He grumbled to himself, about to turn to the water trough at the back of the stall to clean out his mouth when a member of the ground crew walked past. Liberty watched as the woman stopped and rocked up on her tip toes to look into his stall. Her gaze lingered on the still full food trough. “Captain? Are you feeling alright?”

Liberty looked at her, curling his claws into the padding material of his stall. He quickly turned the motion into a stretch when the woman leaned back. It wasn’t the usual behavior for the ground crew, they had nothing to fear from the dragons so they rarely showed fear themselves. Unless there was a good reason and, if so, they weren’t telling him.

He lingered over his stretch for a moment before shaking his head, trying his best to look complacent. “I’m fine. I was just thinking about something that I intended to ask the ground crew last night. I never got the chance.”

“Oh?” The woman seemed relieved, but she didn’t step closer and she still watched him warily.

Liberty let the strange look pass. He resettled his wings and flicked his tail so he could curl it around his body. “It was about my mission harness. It seemed to be rubbing more on the way back in. I don’t know if it was because of the drag of the tent or how fast I was asked back, but I wanted to have a look at it again.”

“Of course. I’ll get it out for you while you eat.”

She rushed away again before Liberty could say anything else. He turned his head to watch as she rushed back to the ground crew room. Liberty waited until she had disappeared into the room before reaching out for his food trough. He dipped a talon in, stirring around the meat. He picked out a few pieces and dropped them into his water trough, wincing at the color of the blood inside of it. He wouldn’t be able to drink from it for a while, but he hoped that he would be able to find another way to dispose of the meat once the ground crew was distracted again. Liberty lowered his head to smear blood over his mouth and another claw, making a great show of licking it off when the woman came back.

He made sure to give his food trough a longing look as he got up, licking the rest blood from his lips as he stepped out into the aisle. He stayed away from where the woman was laying out his harness, carefully stepping over the straps when she gestured for him to move into place.

Liberty stepped into place, helping the woman with the heavier straps. It was a chore for the woman to be putting his harness on by herself, but she didn’t seem inclined to call for help and Liberty didn’t want to call any over. It made conversation easier, Liberty holding steady as the woman clambered over his back.

He waited until she had attached the harness around his neck and shoulders before turning his head to talk to her. “I think the worst of the rubbing was further back.”

“Where it runs across the scars?”

“Possibly. We’ll just have to test it out.” He lifted the next strap for her, catching her looking at his partially full food trough. He let his gaze linger on the trough before turning his gaze back to the woman. “What’s the occasion?”

“What do you mean?”

“The meat. Did I look that bad yesterday?” He offered her a laugh, glad when she joined in.

The woman didn’t answer his question for a moment, focusing on a tricky triple set of buckles that held the straps over his haunches. She tugged them into place, slipping her hands under the straps to check for tightness before leaning back on her heels. She inspected the spot, tugging on a few on the straps before shaking her head. “For the distance you covered, no. But that’s not the reason.” She hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice into a whisper, Liberty having to lean closer to her to hear what she said. “It’s Director Fury…he’s been killed.”

Liberty tensed, staring at the woman as she stood up abruptly on his back. She took a step back, Liberty barely noticing that she was working quickly towards the crupper of the harness. It would put her the furthest away from his teeth, but Liberty wasn’t thinking about lashing out, he was too busy trying to process the information.

Nicholas Fury had been a part of his crew once, before Peggy had retired and the directorship had passed to him. Liberty had been annoyed by the shift, but he had been far too used to the endless motion of people on and off his back. He didn’t remember what he had felt, just that he had moved on and had been proud about what Fury was accomplishing. The man had seemed indestructible, so Liberty couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of Fury just _dying_.

He felt a tug on his harness again, Liberty looked back at the woman as she finished up with the harness. He hoped that she would have something more than just the news that Fury was dead, but she just patted his back awkwardly. “We got the news earlier this morning, so we thought you deserved something. You’re one of the ones who knew him the best.”

“He was my first lieutenant.”

She patted his back against before sliding down his leg. Liberty turned his head away, staring at the aisle. It was hard to take the news in, and even harder to figure out what he wanted to do. Fury hadn’t been part of his crew for years, but he had been his. But there was no one to strike out against, he had only been giving the bare minimum of information and some meat in the hopes that it would sweeten him up. There were worse ways to break the news to him, and Liberty certainly couldn’t fault them for what they had done. It just made him want to call for Steve. Certainly Steve would know what was going on and there was no one else that he could trust about the sudden bribe of strange food.

He turned his head slightly, just enough to look at his food trough. He could see a bit of the white powder along the sides, Liberty feeling like the bottom of his stomach had dropped out.

He was sure that he had been drugged into sleep the night before and that, if he had just dug into the meat, he would have slept through the rest of the day. Liberty wasn’t even sure that he would have been told about Fury, although how they could have kept it a secret from him Liberty didn’t know. All he knew was that it didn’t add up in a way that made sense to him.

“Liberty?” He started at the sound of his name, craning his head to look at the woman. She motioned for him to get up, Liberty numbly following the order. He eyed the woman carefully, suddenly realizing that he didn’t know if she was really helping him or just distracting him while the next part of their plan went through.

He ignored her question and turned his head, looking down the aisle at the other dragons. Save for Proclamation of Freedom and Dejudicavi, all the other dragons were awake although none of them were looking out into the aisle. Liberty could easily shake off the nervousness that came with Freedom sleeping since she had just been flown out and back, but there was no reason for Dejudicavi to be sleeping still.

The woman called his name again, Liberty standing up quickly. He spread his wings, glancing to each side to make sure that the harness straps wouldn’t get caught up in them before he turned his head forward and shook his body. He could feel the woman staring at the harness, but Liberty wasn’t paying attention to the way it slid around on his body, his attention was on the window into the captain’s break room.

Six captains were inside, McCulley, Flores, Soto, Wolanski, Langley, Decus’ captain, and Rawley, Amoena’ captain. They were all grouped in one place, Liberty not able to see what they were doing. He stopped shaking, turning his head to take a quick look over his harness before dropping into a crouch again. “The back straps again, where they run over the scars. I don’t know if it’s something or if it’s because of the scars.”

The woman clambered up onto his back without a qualm, Liberty letting her work as he took the chance to look into the break room again. They were still grouped together, but it was obvious that something wasn’t quite right. Wolanski was sitting in a chair with her hand pressed against her other arm while McCulley and Flores were standing in front of her defensively. The other three captains looked aggressive, Liberty watching as they gestured. He sucked in a quick breath when he saw that Rawley was holding a gun.

He heard the woman on his back gasp, Liberty turning his gaze away from the captains to meet her gaze. She tugged the straps into a new formation, holding up her hands when she realized that he was looking at her. “Sorry. Was that too tight?”

“No. It feels better than before.” Liberty barely paid attention to the adjustments, his mind working furiously.

His first instinct told him to charge in and break up what was happening with the captains, because it was wrong. But the stronger urge was to turn and run out of the dragon bay. If the other captains were being held captive, then he needed to find Steve. He already had his harness on, but he couldn’t know if Steve had his. Then again, one would be easy to find if they needed to flee. He had meant to use the request for harness adjustments as a distraction from the fact that he hadn’t eaten his breakfast, now he was glad that he had pulled it all the way on. It was better than just flying with his breast collar.

He turned in place, twining back around himself to make it look like he was testing out the straps. Some of the other dragons were lifting their heads, Liberty not surprised that Glorior, Decus and Amoena quickly lowered their heads again. Dejudicavi was starting to lift his head, although the movement was shaky. The Narragansett looked like she was about to fall asleep again.

Liberty came to a stop facing the bay doors, resettling his wings against his side. He turned his head to look at the woman standing behind him, feeling a fleeting bit of guilt for putting her in the position she was in, but he had no choice. Something suspicious was going on, and he needed a better view than what he could get in the dragon bay. He gave the woman a thankful nod before dashing for the landing pad.

He heard a squawk of surprise from Amoena, ignoring the sound just like he ignored the way that the woman called for him. It was more important that he got himself out of danger and down to the end of the dragon bay. If he was going to be stopped, he wanted to be stopped by the front of the dragon bay, the dragons were smaller and easier to bowl through. If Amoena reached him, then Liberty was sure that he would lose.

He jumped to the side as Decus lashed out, quickly ducking his head as he squeezed into the tunnel. His claws scraped across the concrete as he tried to right himself, Liberty grunting as he stumbled into the side of the tunnel. He righted himself quickly, feeling teeth snapping at his tail. Liberty growled and swung his tail with all the power that he could, winning himself a yelp as his tail cracked against a jaw. He didn’t dare look back and waste the time, not when there was brilliant light ahead of him.

Liberty shook out his wings, blocking pursuit from other dragons even as he got ready to fly. He rocked back onto his haunches, taking the last few feet in the tunnel in a series of shortened bounds. He sucked in a great breath of air as soon as he pulled himself from the tunnel, trying to fill his air sacs to their fullest so the effort of lifting up in the air wouldn’t be too much of an effort. With the other dragons chasing him, he wanted to be up and gone faster than the others could. So far, he still had the element of surprise, but Liberty was aware of just how quickly that was leaking away.

He pushed off from the landing pad, not bothering to check for other dragons in his flight path. Unburdened with humans and their equipment, he could move faster than the dragons coming out of the airport or spilling out from the Triskelion after him. He beat his wings down hard, sucking in another deep breath to stoke his fire. He could feel the flames licking at the back of his throat, sparks already leaking out of the sides of his mouth. Liberty turned his head, ready to breathe back on where Decus and Glorior were just starting to emerge from the tunnel when something hit him hard.

The fire that he had gathered was forced out of him, Liberty seeing it scatter across the landing pad and into the river, but nowhere near the two dragons that were hovering by the tunnel. He twisted to look up at what had hit him, getting a flash of red, white and blue before he hit the landing pad.

Liberty gasped as the air was forced out of him, his air sacs deflating slightly as well. He wheezed, scrambling at the landing pad even as he turned his head to try and snap at the neck of the dragon. His teeth grazed over the scales before the dragon got a better hold of him, one foreleg resting at the top of his neck while the dragon practically laid over his back. Liberty hissed but went still, panting for breath and he looked at the people and dragons that were gathering

Glorior and Decus were the only ones that had managed to get out into the open, but Liberty could see Amoena blocking up the rest of the tunnel. Distantly, he could hear Lozen and Freedom shouting for attention, but that didn’t last long. Someone must have drawn their attention to where their captains were being kept separate from them. Liberty was sure that he heard one of them whimper, which meant that he couldn’t count on them for help. He growled and tipped his head to the side, raising his lip in a threat when he saw that Blaze of Glory crouched over him.

The younger Firecracker didn’t bother to look apologetic, in fact, he looked proud. He growled back at Liberty before his attention strayed back to the landing pad. Liberty followed his gaze, increasing the volume of his growl when he saw Agent Coleman rushing out towards him.

“Hold him down, Glory.” She got a grunt his response, Liberty gasping as he was pressed harder against the landing pad. He wiggled in the hold, only able to lash his tail, but not close enough to hit anything useful. He twisted his head slightly, opening his mouth in an empty threat towards Agent Coleman, one that she just rolled her eyes at and stayed well out of his range. “Stop that, you know better.”

“Do I?”

Agent Coleman sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “This is an overreaction, just what we feared when you learned that Director Fury had been killed. You’re behaving like we wouldn’t let you see him and I’m tempted not to let you. But, if you go back in and finish your breakfast, then you’ll be taken to him.”

Liberty looked between the dragons and the humans that had gathered. They were familiar to him, but they weren’t acting in their usual way, which made it dangerous. Liberty dropped his lip, considering the gathering. They would probably let him see Fury, just as soon as he had drugged himself and slept through the day. It would keep him from getting into trouble, and possibly give them the chance to find Steve.

He glanced up at the Triskelion looming above him. He couldn’t quite see the other agents, but no one was looking out at the strange scene below. Liberty turned his head to the side, pressing his communicator against the landing pad. He heard the click as it moved through the channels reserved for dragons, but there was nothing but static. If any of the dragons wanted to reach their captains, they wouldn’t be able to.

If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought that SHIELD was falling apart. But Fury had always had plans, and there had to be a successor waiting to be put in place. Even with Coulson gone there would have been another waiting in the wings, if the people who were taking charge now would let them.

Liberty listened to the static for a moment longer before making up his mind. He didn’t trust anyone in the dragon bay, and he couldn’t get a good enough read on the rest of SHIELD to make a decision about them. What he did know was that he had to find Steve before he ended up like Lozen, Dejudicavi and Freedom’s captains. If they got Steve, then he would have be creative and careful. His captain could take care of himself, it was the collateral that Liberty would have to be careful of. It would be best if he avoided that entirely.

Glory had pinned him stomach down on the landing pad, something that should have been avoided. He glanced over at the assembled humans, glad to see that they were already starting to drift back. The dragons were still on guard, but they probably knew better. The humans were all field agents who only got on dragons for a mission, Liberty couldn’t see any of the ground crew.

He shifted under Glory’s hold, hearing the dragon growl a warning, not that it mattered. He was in the position of power. Glory was more lightly built, a lighter weight and in the wrong positon.

It didn’t take much to gather his feet under him, ignoring the growl that grew in volume. He could feel Glory shifting on his back, Liberty waiting until the Firecracker’s weight pitched the right way before shoving himself up. He wasn’t trying for flight or even to shove Glory completely off of him, just enough to ram his spines into Glory’s stomach. They weren’t the sharp spines of some of the other breeds, the triangular growths curved into a point that faced his tail more than upright, but it was easy enough to arch his back up and forward until they dug into Glory’s soft underbelly.

The Firecracker roared in surprise and pain, the move he made to jerk away enough for Liberty to buck properly. Glory roared again as he toppled forward to the side. There was a scream and a horrible crunch, Liberty turning his head to see Glory rolling quickly to his feet. There was a splatter of blood against his side and Agent Coleman was gone, but Liberty didn’t allow himself to look too long; he couldn’t when Glory was gathering himself up to spring and the other two dragons were charging forward. He didn’t like his odds against three of them, especially when one was his own weight.

He gave them all a long look before clamping his wings against his side. Liberty sucked in a quick breath, just enough to be able to breathe a spattering of sparks on the ground of the landing pad. He glared at all three dragons before pushing away from the pad and rolling into the river below.

* * *

Steve panted for breath as he looked down at the unconscious bodies that were piled on the floor of the elevator. He watched for any signs of movement, his mind already working towards his next move.

Fury was suspected of being behind the hijacking of the _Lemurian Star_ and, while Steve was willing to believe that, he couldn’t quite believe that Fury had betrayed all of SHIELD. He didn’t think that Pierce was grasping at straws, but he certainly didn’t trust the man now. Something was obviously wrong with SHIELD, Fury himself had told him that, but he had walked back in anyway. He had needed the proof that what Fury had said was the truth, and now he had it in spades.

He rolled his shoulder, glancing down at the cuff that had been snapped into place around his wrist. Steve sighed and stepped onto the edge of his shield so it would flip up into his hand. From there, it was easy enough to bring it down hard on his cuff.

The metal dropped away from his wrist, Steve rolling it carefully. He doubted that anything had been broken, the thing had just been magnetized for restraint. He frowned and looked down at the broken remains of the cuff on the ground. They hadn’t wanted to kill him, they had just wanted to capture him. Steve wondered if they had wanted it for a veneer of legitimacy for whatever they planned on doing, or for the usual reasons. After all, nations continued to think that the idea of having their own super soldier was appealing and they hadn’t seem to learn the lessons that the others had. He curled his fingers into a fist, loosening it a moment later.

He had to keep moving by steps, it was the only way that he would get out of the Triskelion alive. It was obvious that the entire building had been alerted to his presence and that they had been told that he wouldn’t cooperate. He would meet the same resistance throughout the building, but he would have to risk it to get to transportation. He needed to get away from the Triskelion and to the hospital as fast as he could, and then put more distance between him and whatever pursuit would be sent out. For that, he would need his dragon.

Steve had no intention of leaving Liberty behind, not when he had no idea what they would do to the dragon. If they had any sense, they would keep Liberty calm and as uninformed as possible. That would keep the dragon calm for as long as they needed him. They could even send him flying after Steve as a trap, if they managed to convince Liberty he was in trouble. Steve wanted to avoid all of that if he could.

He reached out to press his fingers against the control panel, frowning when the elevator remained in emergency stop. He stepped back to look at the doors of the elevator, rolling his shoulders before reaching up and prying them open.

From what little he had managed to see before the fight had broken out, the elevator had managed to get halfway down the building. He would have to take the stairs down to the lower levels where the dragon bay was. At least he’d still be close to the back of the bay where Liberty was. Although getting to the front would be a problem. Steve wasn’t sure how far the news had news had traveled through the Triskelion and what exactly the others had been told, but he was willing to bet that things were moving fast. He and Liberty would have to fight their way out of the dragon bay. Steve could only hope that Amoena would be gone on her morning flight. Liberty could match up with any of the other dragons, but a heavyweight would be too much for him, even with his fire.

The doors to the elevator groaned before they finally slid open, Steve staring at the group of men that were running down the hall towards him. So the news had spread faster than he had first hoped.

He cursed and ducked down below the open doors. He glanced around before edging towards the outside edge of the elevator. The emergency break wouldn’t disengage so there wasn’t any other way to urge the elevator into action. The only way for someone to get up to him was via a dragon, and Steve didn’t think that his luck would hold up for Liberty to be the one to get him.

Steve reached up to tap the comm in his ear, not surprised when nothing was coming through, not even on the dragon channels. He pulled the comm out of his ear, crushing it. For all he knew it could be bugged, and he was being tracked through it, not that they needed much effort to track him without it. They had him pinned in an elevator, which meant that they had Liberty cowed until one of the two of them could figure out a plan.

He stared down at the ground below the elevator. From where he was he could make the jump to the lobby of the Triskelion. It was glass, so he would fall right through it, but he would be closer to the dragon bay. It would be five levels down, although Steve was sure that he would have to take a more circuitous route. Still, the noise would be enough to draw attention, and that might draw Liberty out.

He took a deep breath and ran at the glass side of the elevator, bringing his shield up so it took the brunt of the impact.

The glass shattered, Steve curling himself as tightly as he could to fit behind the shield. The vibranium would take the worst of the impact, but it wouldn’t protect him from any of the glass flying up, or from all of the impact. Steve gritted his teeth before reminding himself to go as limp and loose as possible. Every aviator he had met had given him that bit of advice. If he had to fall, he was more likely to walk away from it if he didn’t tense up.

He didn’t have much time to think of anything else, Steve squeezing his eyes shut as he hit the glass ceiling of the lobby.

There was a loud clang as the shield in the floor, the vibration traveling up his arm and making it feel like his bones were rattling even as his full weight fell on the same arm. Steve grunted in pain, quickly rolling off his arm and onto all fours. He remained on the ground just long enough to suck in a breath before he was pushing off the marble and running for the exit. His arm still shook with the force of his fall, but Steve ignored it in favor of running for the doors.

In his mind he was already sketching out the route that he would have to take. He would have to run out onto the open bridge, but from there he could jump over the side and into the river. Climbing up into the dragon bay from the front wasn’t his first choice, but it was the only way left to him. Liberty would come when he called, which would take care of some of the problem. Steve was sure that he could hold the entrance until Liberty got free. If not, then he would just have to wait and watch for the opportune moment, which would run the same risk. Staying too close to the Triskelion could get the two of them caught, but Steve didn’t intend to leave without Liberty.

He swung the shield onto his back, feeling it click into place. Steve turned his head slightly, looking down to try and determine the best place to jump off.

He got a brief glance at the landing bay before a dragon blocked his view. Steve stared at the light brown stomach as the dragon flew up to the level of the bridge. It kept pace with him before darting ahead and banking tightly to land on the bridge. Steve reached back for his shield but slowed down, watching the dragon carefully.

Decus was giving him the same favor, watching him warily even as the Narragansett’s captain slid from his back. Captain Langley held up both of his hands, Steve’s attention more on the gun that was still on his waist. He narrowed his eyes, watching as the captain came to a stop. “I’m not here to get into anything. I’m just here to ask you to stand down.”

Steve was tempted to jerk the shield from his back, but he pushed back the urge, looking between Langley and his dragon. The captain seemed to be doing a better job of looking nonthreatening than Decus, the Narragansett visibly baring his teeth at him. Steve returned the glare that the dragon gave him before turning his attention back to Langley. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Damn it, Rogers.” Langley dropped his hands, Steve noting the way one rested on the butt of his gun. “You’re going to. We have our orders.”

He pulled the shield from his back. “Get out of my way.”

Langley frowned, but he didn’t get the chance to say anything before Decus stepped over him. The dragon fixed Steve with an amused glance before tipping his head to the side. “Go ahead and try it.”

Steve frowned, glancing between Langley and Decus. Langley made no move to calm Decus down, the man just shook his head. “You should listen to him, Captain, I think we have something of interest to you.”

He glanced between the two of them before giving in and edging towards the guard of the bridge. He had started to pull the shield from his back as he looked, freezing halfway through the motion when he saw what was on the landing pad.

At first, he just saw Amoena, the heavyweight crouched over something. It wasn’t until something moved under her that Steve realized that there was a dragon being held against the pad. The markings on the dragon were painfully familiar, Steve curling his fingers against his shield at the red and white that he could see along the dragon’s topline. He stepped closer to the rail, reaching out to grab onto it with his free hand. “Liberty!”

Liberty jerked his head up, Steve watching as he strained against Amoena’ weight. “Steve?”

The dragon’s voice was off but, with the way that Amoena was leaning on him, the air was probably being forced from his lungs and air sacs. Steve leaned over the edge, staring at a splash of bright red blood on what he could see of Liberty’s shoulder. “If you’ve hurt him…”

“We’ve tried not to.” Langley stepped to the edge, Steve glancing over at him before looking down at hi dragon. “He wasn’t listening to us, which is the only reason we have Amoena sitting on him. He’s been restless since we told him that Fury was dead.”

Liberty shifted on the pad, Steve watching as the Firecracker writhed on the ground until he managed to work a foreleg out. Liberty turned partially around and braced himself against Amoena. Steve stared at the bare scales at the base of the dragon’s neck, slowly taking a step back from the edge.

When he looked back at Langley the man nodded at him. “Listen, we haven’t told him about the rest and we don’t plan to. Threatening the two of you won’t get us anywhere. So, why don’t we just go back inside and you can help us calm him down. By that time, Soto and I should be able to talk to the powers that be to get the two of you out to see Fury’s corpse. That should calm him down right?”

“Right.” Steve pulled the shield from his back, holding it easily on the edge. He saw Langley jerk back at the implied threat, glancing up as Decus reared his head up. He nodded at the two of them, drawing his arm back slightly in a threat. “One last time, get out of my way.”

“Captain Rogers-”

“Amoena, crush him!” Decus lunged forward before his captain could finish speaking.

Steve braced himself, looking for the first available soft spot to throw his shield, but he never got the chance.

There was a roar from his right, Steve jerking his head to watch as a muddy mess of a dragon clawed its way onto the bridge. Steve stared as the dragon swung its head to glance at him, looking into the familiar blue eye before the dragon launched himself at Decus.

The Narragansett only had time to squawk in surprise before the dragon landed on top of him. Decus squealed and tried to buck him off, Langley spinning to stare at the two dragons in surprise. Steve joined in the shock for a moment before he rushed forward, pulling his punch just enough so that Langley went down unconscious instead of dead.

He stepped to the side as Langley hit the ground, rushing forward his with his shield at the ready only to find that he wasn’t needed.

Decus had been pinned to the bridge, the Narragansett keening and clawing in the direction of his captain. The middleweight on his back didn’t let up, pressing Decus more firmly to the bridge and adjusting his jaws around the dragon’s neck. If that wasn’t enough of a threat, the dragon was growling, a low rumble that Steve could feel through his feet. He thought he caught a few words here and there but most of it was muffled against Decus’ neck.

The smaller dragon wailed before going still, but the larger dragon didn’t let up. Steve was sure that the dragon intended to bite down and kill, but they didn’t have the time for that. They needed to get away quickly, and they didn’t need to enrage the rest of the dragons by killing one of their own.

“Liberty.” The dragon looked up at him, the motion pulling Decus’ neck up. “Let him go.”

Liberty snarled, opening his wings slightly. Weed and mud sloughed off of them, Steve getting glimpses of blue scale. Liberty flapped his wings a few more times, shedding more mud before he let go of Decus’ neck. He hissed at the smaller dragon as he stepped down, Steve moving out of the way so Liberty could stand over Langley’s unconscious body. The threat was obvious, and Steve hoped that it would keep Decus on the ground long enough for the two of them to get away. Steve couldn’t see what the other dragons were doing, but he didn’t think that they would remain down on the ground for long.

He reached for where he guessed the nearest harness strap was, hauling himself onto Liberty’s back. He ignored the mud, more focused on clearing out the ring for his carabiner to clip on to. The mud wasn’t bad compared to some of the mud they had encountered on their campaigns. Besides, it would double as cover for Liberty’s bright scales. No one would think to look for the Sentinel of Liberty in a muddy dragon, which just left Steve to worry about himself.

He glanced down at the uniform that he was wearing before shaking his head. That would be the first thing that they would have to do, get him something less conspicuous.

Steve leaned forward, resting a hand against Liberty’s neck. He wasn’t sure if the dragon could feel it through the layer of mud, but Liberty launched himself off the bridge anyway. Steve was jerked backwards with the force of the jump, scrambling to find another hold as the Firecracker beat up quickly.

He twisted in place to look over his shoulder for pursuit. Decus was curled around his captain on the bridge, nosing at him while shooting frightened looks at Liberty. Steve leaned back a little further to see the other Firecracker and Amoena on the landing pad, getting a glimpse of the two dragons in between the beats of Liberty’s right wing. The two of them looked just as shocked, but they were obviously waiting for orders.

Steve narrowed his eyes before leaning forward, getting a better hold on the harness as Liberty continued to angle upward. Liberty was probably trying to get above the usual flight paths to avoid getting spotted or dropped on from above. Steve kept his silence, letting Liberty do the flying. The dragon knew the best ways to defend himself and Steve wouldn’t argue with it. As he could still look at the ground to mark where they were going, he had no complaints.

He wiggled his fingers free from the harness, moving them to rest on the drying mud on Liberty’s neck. More pieces flaked off, but it looked like a natural enough pattern, or it would from far away. There were other ways of disguising dragons, but they didn’t have the time for it, so the mud would have to work.

“Liberty!” It took the Firecracker a moment to turn his head. Steve stared at the communicator still in place. He reached up to tap his ear, Liberty reaching forward to touch the communicator. The dragon growled and clawed it out of place, letting it fall to the ground below. Now the only thing that SHIELD could be tracking them with was his suit, and Steve didn’t intend to have it with them for too long.

He leaned forward, trying to cover the distance between him and Liberty. “Find a gym. I need to ditch the suit.”

Liberty nodded curtly, his head ducking down for a moment as he scanned the ground. His head rose slightly as he tipped it back towards Steve. “And then what?”

“We have to make a stop by the hospital. Fury left me something.”

He could tell by the way that Liberty stopped his searching to look back that the dragon was interested, but the dragon didn’t ask any more questions. He just nodded and dropped his head back down, continuing his searches of the city below them.

Steve left Liberty to his work, crouching lower to the dragon in an attempt to make himself less noticeable. Until they had the USB drive back, it was better to leave everything up to Liberty.


	2. Your Boldness Stands Alone Among the Wreck

Liberty tucked himself away among the other dragons waiting at the mall, trying to make himself look as small as possible. With his drying, flaking coat of mud he didn’t look like a Firecracker, but he didn’t look like any other recognizable middleweight. At best, he looked like a dragon who’d been putting in miles of flight through bad weather and bad landing spots. The impression suited him just fine. The mud hid his harness and breast collar, and made the other dragons look away without really studying him.

He dragged his jaw along the asphalt, sighing happily as some of the mud was scraped off. Now that it was drying, it was starting to itch. Liberty curled his claws in, resisting the urge to scratch. They weren’t out of the city yet, and he needed his disguise for as long as it took for Steve and Natasha to finish their business and give him a destination. If they stayed far enough away from civilization then he might just get the chance to rub off the mud.

He tried not to tense at the sound of wings, letting his eyes fall to slits as the dragon came in to land. Liberty tilted his head to the side, watching as the dragon landed on the other side of the lot, letting its crew off. He just barely stopped himself from snarling when he saw the STRIKE team jumping off from Blaze of Glory’s back. STRIKE immediately rushed into the mall, only Rumlow remaining behind to issue orders. Liberty saw Rumlow make a motion with his hand, Glory nodding and taking to the air again. Liberty guessed that the other Firecracker would go into a holding pattern above the mall, watching for movement.

Liberty shifted on the ground, listening as Glory’s wing beats faded away as the dragon gained height. The Firecracker would be circling, meaning that they might have to find a more creative way to get out, or he could rush. Liberty craned his head, watching as Glory glided by overhead.

There were four dragons he knew for sure that were willing to act against them, although he didn’t know if they were acting on their captains’ orders alone or because they believed in what they were doing. Liberty didn’t think that it mattered, they were the enemy no matter how temporary that was. It wouldn’t hurt to thin out the chase, just so long as he try to kill them. A good shot at a wing would do just as well.

Of course, that would only work if there was only one of them and Amoena wasn’t brought in to hold him down.

He resisted the urge to let his tail flick, he was supposed to be a dragon dozing while his humans were in the mall. Glory was probably looking for any signs of annoyance or nervousness. Liberty huffed and resettled himself carefully, letting his wings spread slightly like he was cooling himself down. Glory’s shadow crossed over him again, Liberty carefully not paying it any attention.

Liberty let his eyes fall completely shut, relying on the vibrations that he could feel through his jaw and what he could pick up with his other senses. He wished that they still had comm units, but they couldn’t risk being tracked. Even knowing that, it was hard to sit still while he knew that the STRIKE team was combing the building. Even if he was with Steve and Natasha he would be more of a target than a help. The mall might have been built large to allow dragons in, but it would still get cramped and he wasn’t a courier weight that could just turn on a dime.

He sighed, starting to count the number of times that Glory’s shadow fell over his head. The Firecracker never seemed to vary from his path, which meant that nothing was happening. Liberty opened one eye, tracking Glory through the sky.

Glory jerked his head up to something above him, Liberty lifting his head slightly to see a second shadow sliding in. He narrowed his eyes when he saw that it was Decus. Liberty was surprised that the Narragansett was out especially after what had happened to him on the bridge. Liberty was sure that he had gotten a few deep cuts on the dragon’s shoulder when he had landed on him. Decus didn’t seem to be limping in the air, which was a bad thing. That was two dragons flying right above the mall.

A third shadow fell over the lot, the other dragons starting to sit up and pay attention. Liberty watched as Glorior circled in before getting to his feet. The other dragons that had been napping in the sun were starting to shift away too, some of them muttering angrily to themselves. One or two dragons circling might have been alright, as long as they landed or moved away, but three meant that something was wrong.

Liberty heard one of the dragons mutter about going in and snatching his humans away. He lowered his head, sliding further back into the shifting mass of dragons as Glorior landed in the lot. The courier weight skipped along the ground for a moment before coming to a stop, the Winchester trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. Liberty kept an eye on the courier as he edged around the group, keeping himself behind the other dragons as Glorior went up onto his hind legs, giving all of the dragons a long look over. Glorior sized up the situation before starting to give the dragons the usual assurances. Liberty didn’t stay to listen.

He slunk along the back of the lot, sticking close to the other dragons to avoid being singled out. Buildings loomed on either side of the lot, the spaces between them just big enough for him to squeeze through and wait. It would be trapping him in one place, but no dragon would purposefully trap themselves on the ground. It would be the last place that the others looked.

Liberty hesitated on the edge of the group of dragons, taking a deep breath before dropping into a half crouch. He froze when two shadows fell over him in quick succession, but Glory and Decus were already moving away. The two of them had apparently found something more interesting on the other side of the mall. His guess was proven when Glorior gave one last word to the waiting dragons before bounding into the air again. The three of them conferred in the air before turning away.

The dragons watched him go before they started moving back to the mall, grumbling amongst themselves. Liberty kept a close eye on them, waiting for one of them to look over and realize that he was acting suspiciously. He straightened himself up, stretching out his back. Liberty sighed when more mud flaked off of him. He lifted his head, flicking his tongue out.

The three SHIELD dragons were still circling, although they were moving slowly away, probably combing the streets for signs of another Firecracker dragon. Liberty hissed in their direction before loping close to the mall. He needed to find Steve and Natasha while they were distracted. They could work on the USB somewhere else, perhaps somewhere less public and further out of DC.

He curled himself close to the door, watching the people moving about. He could see two members of the STRIKE team moving on the top level, Liberty huffing in annoyance. Sneaking past them would be hard, although he could only hope that there were a few civilian dragons that looked enough like him.

Liberty was just starting to nudge the door open when the human sized one swung open. He stared at the two people that came from the door, confused until he saw a flash of red hair under the woman’s hood. He turned in place, ducking his head so he could look at Steve and Natasha. “Did you get it?”

Steve nodded, already walking under Liberty’s chest to reach for where he had stowed his shield while they had been in the mall. Liberty sucked in his stomach as the shield was tugged free. As soon as Steve stepped away, he ducked is head to make sure that his harness was still in place. It took a bit of poking to find the strap, but it was still in place. Liberty still gave a quick shake, feeling more mud slough off of him.

He dropped into a crouch, keeping a wary eye out even as he spoke. “All lies well.”

He saw Natasha and Steve move out of the corner of his eye, the two of them climbing easily up onto his back. Natasha climbed faster than Steve, swinging herself easily into her usual position. Steve seemed to be taking his time, Liberty turning his head so he could see his captain more clearly.

Steve was prodding at some of the places where the mud had dried with a frown on his face. “This isn’t going to last.”

“Then we’ll figure something else out. It’s more important that we leave.” Liberty looked up, opening his wings as he saw the familiar shape of Glory turning towards them. One of the STRIKE team must have called him back, which meant that they were close to giving up the search. “Clip in.”

He waited just long enough to hear Steve’s carabiner snap into place before he pushed himself off the ground. A few of the dragons looked up as he took off, but most of them were starting to settle down again, even if they kept casting wary looks in the direction of the SHIELD dragons. That wariness might keep the other dragons from saying where they had gone. Although, that would change as soon as a good enough lie came up and Liberty was sure that someone was working on one. SHIELD wouldn’t become incompetent just because Fury had died.

Liberty squeezed his eyes shut at the reminder, shaking his head viciously. He couldn’t allow himself to wallow, not while they were still in danger.

He angled himself upward, beating up into the clouds. They would be safe there, far above where most of the dragons preferred to fly. He wouldn’t be able to catch the thermals as well, which would mean more work, but no one would be able to attack him from above. He preferred that much more than he dreaded having to work hard to fly to wherever they were going.

Liberty stretched his wings out in a glide as soon as he got above the usual dragon flight lanes. He gave them a quick look over before beating up a bit higher. No one would look up at him, especially if he was flying fast. All the other dragons would assume that he was on important business and not bother to stop him, mud or not.

He twisted his head around, looking back as Steve finished the climb up to his back. Natasha had already sat down, crossing her legs as she got settled in for a long flight. Liberty glanced back over at Steve, waiting until his captain had clipped into his new position. Steve tugged at the carabiner strap before sitting down himself, one hand resting on Liberty’s neck. “Steady?”

“As I can be. Where are we going?”

Steve frowned at that, Liberty not expecting the response. He couldn’t imagine a reason that Steve would be uneasy about going somewhere unless it was back at SHIELD. That would make things far more difficult, but Liberty was sure that one of the three of them would be able to come up with a plan. It would probably involve him acting as back up, something that he didn’t like. If they were going to be facing SHIELD again, he wanted to be there in case the agents overwhelmed Steve and Natasha.

“Steve?”

“Wheaton, New Jersey.” Liberty lifted his head slightly so he could see Natasha better. She patted his shoulder before gesturing off towards the north. “Know how to get there?”

“I can do Jersey. Wheaton, I might have to check the road signs.” He adjusted his head so he could keep an eye on the sky ahead of him and look back at Steve and Natasha. The position would make his neck ache but, without their comms there was no other way to communicate. Since Steve and Natasha had been the ones to actually see what was on the USB they were the ones with a better picture of just what they were chasing after. They were also the ones who actually knew what had happened within SHIELD, he had been too busy trying to worm his way out of the attentions of the ground crew. “So what’s there?”

“Something SHIELD wants to hide.”

“Camp Lehigh.”

They both answered at the same time, Liberty intrigued by both answers. He gave a questioning rumble, looking at Steve as he waited for an explanation.

The hand on his neck curled into a fist before Steve relaxed, his hand starting to move in a gentle stroking motion over Liberty’s neck. “I don’t know. The information on the USB that Fury gave me pointed to Camp Lehigh. It’s something to do with whatever the _Lemurian Star_ was sent out to do. But I’m not the expert on that.”

Steve looked over at Natasha, Liberty surprised by the anger still in Steve’s voice. If Natasha heard it, then she didn’t show it. She was busy pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Natasha pulling it tightly before she bothered to talk. “I know that the _Lemurian Star_ was attached to SHIELD’s next big project, but I didn’t have the clearance to see it.”

“Project Insight?”

“And I thought you said Fury didn’t trust you.” Natasha gave Steve a lazy smile before sure turned to look at Liberty. “Fury wanted to keep abreast of the project but something didn’t add up. He sent me to fill in the missing pieces. I don’t know why the project was worked on in three different places, but I get the feeling we’re about to find out.”

Liberty puzzled over her words for a moment before shaking his head. “This project is something that they would kill to keep silent?”

“Yes.” Steve answered quickly, his fingers rubbing against the edge of his shield. “I can’t see to any sane person agreeing to what they were doing.”

“And Fury agreed to this?” Liberty looked between Steve and Natasha, trying to pick out their answers from the looks on their faces. Natasha’s face was the same blank look that she always carefully cultivated while Steve’s was tense. Liberty turned his head back around, thinking over what he had been told.

If Steve was so angry, then what Fury had done was truly reprehensible. Liberty could almost bring himself to believe that Fury would go to those lengths, but not in the way Steve believed it. Fury wouldn’t have sold his soul like that without a way out for everyone. Fury might be willing to go to the furthest length, but he would always try to cut down casualties when he could. Liberty could understand Pierce or the World Security Council being angry about the steps that Fury would not take, but he couldn’t imagine them killing him, not unless he had learned something that he shouldn’t. If that was the case, then all of SHIELD was in trouble.

He flexed his claws, still working through what would have made someone want to kill Nick Fury before he shook his head. There were too many reasons, all of which could fit the problem. “How deep does it go?”

“Does what go?”

Liberty shook his head, quickly rephrasing his question. “Who else knew about Project Insight?”

Steve glanced at Natasha, who looked at a loss. He shrugged, drumming his fingers against Liberty’s neck. “Fury and Pierce, maybe the WSC. I don’t know who else.”

“Then one of them is dirty. And one of them works for someone else.”

“But who?”

“Maybe that’s what we’ll find at Camp Lehigh.”

Steve didn’t look completely convinced, but at least he relaxed his grip on the shield. Natasha looked a little more convinced, and resigned. Liberty gave her what he hoped was a comforting look. He and Clint had pulled her from working with the KGB, which meant that they might have brought her right into the same kind of business. He sighed, and turned his head back around, dropping his muzzle slightly so he could look down.

He couldn’t see much through the layer of clouds that they were flying through, but he knew the feeling of a mile. He would duck down as soon as he had put a few miles between him and DC. Besides, he had already made the flight half blind before, when he had brought Tony and Pepper back up to New York. Spending most of his time in the clouds and flying at night were similar enough, although Liberty wished for the cover of night. None of the SHIELD Fleur-de-Nuits were at the Triskelion and it would take time for them to be put on his trail. By then, he might be well into New Jersey, or at least at a point where it would be easier to hide.

Liberty dropped below the cloud cover, scanning the highways laid out below him. He traced the line of a highway, glancing at the sign posts set out for dragons before snorting and rising again. With his heading secured, he could keep just in the clouds and not have to worry about ducking down again.

He took a deep breathe before stretching his wings out and settling into his traveling pace; mentally counting out the miles with the beat of his wings.

* * *

Steve shivered and tugged at his borrowed hoodie, trying to get some warmth from it. The shield protected his back from some of the wind and Liberty naturally ran warmer than the typical breeds of dragon because of his fire breathing. It wasn’t the steam and soaking wet heat that came with the Kaziliks, but it was steady and warm. It still wasn’t enough for him to fight off the chill of the flight and it made him wish for the standard issue heavy jacket that he had left behind. The clothes he had managed to grab from the gym hadn’t been made to withstand the wind that came from a dragon in flight. He pulled the sleeves of the hoodie over his hands, fixing his gaze on the red and white scales of Liberty’s back.

The cold wasn’t the ice, Liberty hadn’t been with him for that. Liberty wouldn’t have let him go under, even if it had meant clawing him out of the wreck of the plane himself. Steve was sure that Liberty wouldn’t have lasted too long, even with his hotter inner temperature. Steve shivered to think about what would have happened if Liberty had disobeyed orders and had flown after him that day. Strangely enough, Steve was sure that Liberty was worse at following orders now that he was older, an idea that made him smile.

He looked up at where Natasha was huddled against Liberty’s back. If she was cold, the only sign she gave of it was the slightly curled flight position. Her back was turned towards him as she leaned out over Liberty’s shoulder. Over the rush of wind in his ears he could hear the rumble of Liberty’s voice, but not what they were talking about. They were dropping, Liberty ducking out of their cover to check that they hadn’t drifted too far off course. Natasha was probably just pointing out landmarks to the dragon, not that Liberty needed it. Steve was sure that Liberty had the maps of the United States and Europe memorized by now. It was only because they had never been called upon to fly much in the other parts of the world that Liberty didn’t have an accurate map of the rest of it in his head.

Steve thought he saw Liberty glance back at him before the dragon shook his head. He dropped it down, scanning the ground below before grunting and aiming back for the clouds. Steve reached forward and grabbed onto the harness strap, rocking slightly with the rougher strokes that Liberty took to gain altitude.

He took the chance to scan for other dragons, but he couldn’t see any before the clouds obscured his vision. Steve sighed and sat back, trusting in Liberty’s senses to alert them for any attack. As it was, the dragon’s head was bobbing more than usual as Liberty looked around, watching for pursuit.

Steve rested a hand on Liberty’s neck, giving the dragon a slight nod when Liberty looked back. “Have we lost them?”

“I haven’t heard anything other than the usual lanes below. I think I’ve managed to outrun them.” There was a gleam in Liberty’s eye. “Despite their superior breeding lines.”

Steve laughed at that, patting Liberty’s neck. He had never heard his dragon complaining about the modernization of the breeds to be able to fly faster for longer compared to the stocky builds of the older versions. If anything, Liberty had seemed to be above some of the squabbling that Steve had seen. The Firecracker was content to just go about his business while the younger dragons hissed and spat at each other.

Liberty sighed and spread his wings out to glide, his head drooping a bit in exhaustion. It was on the tip of Steve’s tongue to tell him to land and rest for a bit when Liberty swung his head around again. “I think we’re about an hour out, give or take a few minutes. Does the camp have a place for me to land?”

Steve blinked at him, taken by surprise by the question. He had been working on the assumption that Camp Lehigh would be the same as it was before he had gone into the ice. He had only seen a dot on a map, not an aerial view of the camp. Before he would have immediately said yes, there had been several large fields that he had seen dragons landing in during training. There was no telling if they were still there, the camp may have expanded during the intervening seventy years. For all he knew, there would be an awkward landing for them.

He offered Liberty a shrug. “We’ll take our chances circling before coming in for a landing.”

Liberty nodded curtly, but his head didn’t swing back around again. He did start beating his wings again, but it wasn’t the breakneck pace that he had kept up before.

Steve sighed and stretched out his legs, rubbing some feeling back into them before crossing them. He looked over at Natasha again, surprised to see her looking up at him with a carefully neutral expression. It was one that he was familiar with, although there was a certain calculation in it now.

“Nervous about going back?”

“Not really.” Steve tugged at his carabiner straps, using the motion to stall for time. “I had some good times there. The soldiers weren’t too bad and neither was the training. No one really picked on the little guy when we were all exhausted.”

Steve felt Liberty jerk a little at that, laughing at the shocked expression on the dragon’s face. “I wasn’t always like this. Someone must have shown you the files from before. I was maybe one hundred pounds soaking wet.”

That got a laugh out of Natasha, but Liberty made a worried noise. He felt the dragon’s muscles work underneath him, Liberty probably opening and closing his claws in worry.

Liberty wasn’t the most possessive dragon that Steve had known, he had seen a few worse during the war. They had crouched over their captains, seemingly afraid to let them get out of their sight. Maybe that had been because Steve had proven himself competent enough to handle himself in the war long before Liberty had made the decision that Steve was his captain. Steve wasn’t even sure when that moment had happened, just that it had happened before the assignment had been made official. Ignoring the many reasons why the United States Air Force would not have wasted a prime dragon like Liberty on a scrawny man, Steve could just imagine how Liberty would have reacted seeing him before the serum. Steve was sure that he would have never been able to step away from the covert without Liberty hovering like a nursemaid.

He gave the dragon another pat, hoping that it would keep Liberty from pushing. At least the dragon’s mind would be busy as soon as they landed, Steve wasn’t going to just tell Liberty to stand by while he and Natasha searched the camp. The dragon’s nose would help them find whatever they needed, or so he hoped.

Natasha must have sensed the change in mood because she unclipped from her place, making her way steadily over Liberty’s back to clip in next to Steve. She settled herself down cross legged. Natasha patted Liberty’s scales herself before leaning back on her hands. “So, are you happy heading home?”

Liberty snorted, shaking his head. “We’re heading in the wrong direction for both. My egg was from a Texas covert, where they were breeding dragons. I met Steve in a New York covert.”

“Really? I thought the two of you had been paired from the start.”

“I wasn’t Captain America until after Project Rebirth had gone through. And he wasn’t technically mine.”

Liberty gave a slow nod at that. “I was the hired help. I made him look good.”

“The American people like dragons. Dragons have been essential to all major wars since they had been first harnessed. It was that kind of confidence that would get people to buy war bonds.”

Liberty let his mouth fall open slightly in a smile, probably recognizing the phrases. Senator Brandt had liked to throw them around while they were traveling between towns. Liberty nodded, turning the smile on Natasha. “We’re a flashy breed. People like flash.”

“And here I was hoping for old war stories.” Natasha shook her head in fake disappointment. “Anything to unravel the tangle of mystery that surrounds the two of you.”

“Why? Will you answer our questions?”

“Steve.” Liberty whispered his name, not that the sound was any quieter.

He shook his head, ignoring the plea. “I’m getting tired of not knowing who I’m dealing with.”

Natasha shrugged, not seeming to be bothered by the turn in the conversation. “What do you want to know?”

“The truth.”

“The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time.” Natasha glanced up at Liberty before leaning forward to meet his gaze. “And neither am I.”

Steve shook his head, not able to help the smile that crossed his face. “That’s no way to live.”

“It’s kept me alive this long. Just ask him,” Natasha nodded over towards Liberty’s head, “he’s part of the reason I’m here.”

“Is that you telling the truth?”

“I don’t know, it depends on what you want to believe. Am I with SHIELD or with you?”

Steve watched her carefully before sighing and letting his shoulders slump. He was tired and aching from his fall from the Triskelion elevator. Worse still, the cold from the flight felt like it was starting to sink into his bones. Steve sighed and tugged the hood of the sweatshirt over his head. It wouldn’t stay there long, but it would at least keep him warm for a bit longer. “What about just being a friend? We’re kind of low on those if you hadn’t noticed.”

The corner of Natasha’s mouth twitched up, Steve not sure if it was a real smile or just her being amused. “Really? I thought you and Tony had hit it off.”

“Well Tony’s not here at the moment. Neither is Bruce and Clint. There’s just you.”

“We might not be in too much trouble then. But you’re in the wrong business if you’re looking for friends.”

Steve shrugged, feeling Liberty’s shoulder roll slightly as the dragon mimicked the move. Liberty banked slightly, using the move to swing his head to give Natasha a long look. “And you’re on the wrong dragon to refuse. You’re both my crew.”

Natasha turned to look at Steve in surprise, but Steve just gestured towards Liberty. “You heard the captain.”

She made an amused noise, but Steve was sure that he saw a real smile on her face. He glanced over at Liberty, watching as the dragon shook his head and looked ahead again. He trusted the dragon, especially since Liberty had been the one to convince SHIELD of her. Dragons might not have any advantages in judging character, but Liberty had known her far longer than he had. For all of her careful misdirection, he trusted her.

He reached up to tug the hood back over his head, holding it in place as Liberty made small adjustments to his flight path. They had dropped out of the clouds again, Liberty’s head down as he scanned the signs and the roads. Steve leaned over his shoulder, watching the signs as they flashed by beneath them. They were closing in on the camp, faster now that Liberty had put on speed, the dragon probably ready to land and rest. Steve just wished that he could give Liberty more time to rest, but he doubted that they would be waiting at Camp Lehigh for long. They would find what SHIELD had hidden there and probably go on the move again.

There was a SHIELD covert close enough to send out dragons, and it would only take an order to send out any of their heavyweights or a whole swarm of dragons. No one would question the orders, especially if they weren’t told who they were going after. Steve was sure that the dragons would attack first before realizing who they had been sent after. As long as Liberty could survive the first assault, they could slip through in the confusion. But there was no doubt about all available dragons taking to the air, they had all loved Fury.

He scanned the sky, twisting around to look behind them. There wasn’t much to see in the dark, especially since Liberty had skirted around most of the major roads save for when he checked on their direction.

“They’re probably a few hours behind us.” He turned his head as Natasha spoke up. Steve nodded and sat back.

He didn’t doubt that SHIELD had a dragon trailing them, he could only hope that they had gotten a big enough head start. From what he could remember Camp Lehigh was large and searching it would take time. He tightened his hold on Liberty’s harness, resisting the urge to reach back to touch his shield. Liberty was bound to see the motion and ask why he was nervous, and Steve wasn’t quite ready to talk his way through it. He just wanted to focus on one problem at a time.

* * *

Steve had Liberty circle around the camp twice before pointing out a spot for the dragon to set down towards the front of the camp. It wasn’t the most open place for the dragon to land, but the other clearings were too far back and surrounded by trees. Soldiers in the Army were used to dragons, but that didn’t mean that they liked them landing in the center of their barracks. The trees were there for the soldier’s comfort, they wouldn’t have to pay attention to the dragons if they didn’t want to. That might have worked for them, but Steve didn’t want to have Liberty so far away from them or attempting to leap above the trees when pursuit came.

Liberty twisted and turned on his landing, his head nearly disappearing beneath his chest as he tried to place his feet so they wouldn’t land on any of the buildings. Steve clung grimly to the harness, riding out the shifts of Liberty’s body. The dragon finally came down, his front half bent awkwardly in a crouch to allow the two of them off. His back half had to remain upright or his hip would catch on one of the barrack buildings. Steve stared at the precarious arrangement before snapping his carabiners free and sliding down Liberty’s shoulder.

He pulled his shield from his back and over his arm while he slid, landing in a crouch. He heard Natasha drop down beside him, a gun in her hands. Steve raised an eyebrow at the sight of the weapon, but he didn’t comment on it. He was glad at of anything to help.

Natasha looked over at him, giving him a quick nod before she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. She fiddled with it for a moment before turning the screen towards Steve. He squinted at the sudden bright light before he was able to see that she had pulled up a map of the area. There was a bright circle where they were, Natasha pulling back the phone to mess with the screen. “Signal is coming from around here. Keep an eye out.”

“For what?”

“Something unusual.”

Liberty huffed at that, Steve glancing up at the Firecracker as Liberty rose from his bow. “That might have to be on Steve. This looks like every other Army camp I’ve been in.” He took a carefully step forward, pausing to look down at one hand. “Well, it has less mud.”

Natasha hummed and started moving off, checking the doorways to the barracks before moving on. Liberty did the same, keeping his head low to the ground with his tongue flicking out every once and a while.

Steve left them to it, his hold on his shield loosening as he walked through the camp. It was hauntingly familiar even with the new additions. The parade grounds might have been pushed back and towards the right of the camp as the number of barracks had grown, but it looked the same. Steve half expected to hear his old drill sergeant yelling at him to keep up the pace or to see soldiers jogging past.

He turned his head to look down the broad avenue that they were on, the sight of Liberty’s red and blue scaled legs ruining the memory. No dragon would have been allowed to block the lanes that the cars used. Steve shook his head and continued to look over the buildings, keeping one eye on Natasha.

He didn’t think that they could get a better pinpoint on the IP that they were following, but he assumed that Natasha would call out if they started moving too far away. He tightened his hold on his shield and kept pace midway down Liberty’s body.

The dragon stretched his muzzle out to sniff at one of the barracks before snorting and shaking his head. “Looks like they haven’t used this place in years.”

“What better place to hide something?” Natasha threw the question over her shoulder, checking down a small alleyway. It looked like she was heading towards the mess hall, or where Steve remembered a mess hall being.

He shook his head, continuing down the road as he heard Natasha make a soft noise of annoyance. Her phone lit up her face strangely in the dark. “This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off.”

Steve stopped, watching as Liberty kept forging ahead. That the dragon wasn’t saying anything meant that Liberty was coming to the same conclusion, but that wouldn’t stop him from checking through the whole camp. Steve sighed, about to call the dragon back when he noticed two buildings side-by-side. He stared at the barracks and the bunker before shaking his head. “No, we’ve got something.”

When Natasha didn’t say anything, he pointed at the bunker. “Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.”

Natasha hummed and shoved her phone back into her pocket. “Helps to bring an expert into the field.”

He thought he heard Liberty make an annoyed sound, but when the dragon lowered his head he just looked interested. Liberty nosed the building before lifting his head. “How are we getting in?”

Steve shook his head, patting Liberty’s leg. “Natasha and I are going in.”

“No. We don’t know what’s in there.”

“Natasha and I can handle it.” Steve tipped his head back so he could meet Liberty’s gaze. “I need you to look around and find a way in. If this building is out of place, it stands to reason that there’ll be a place for a dragon to slip in.”

Liberty didn’t look happy with the orders, but he moved away, Steve leaning forward slightly to avoid knocking his head against Liberty’s tail. The dragon didn’t seem to notice the close call, Liberty too busy scanning the barracks around the bunker and the ground.

Steve watched him for a short while before stepping up to the door. He stared at the lock before slamming the edge of the shield against it.

The lock fell away easily, Steve slipping through the door with his shield raised. Natasha was quick to follow on his heels, Steve finding himself relaxing as she fell into place guarding his back.

Natasha was the one to fumble for the light switch, Steve sucking in a deep breath as the lights flickered on. The bunker hadn’t been used to store ammunition. He stared at the even rows of desks between bookshelves that lined the walls. His gaze was drawn away from the desks to the familiar eagle emblem that had been painted on the wall.

“SHIELD.”

Steve shook his head. “SSR.”

He walked away from Natasha, keeping to the edge of the room. He almost couldn’t believe what he was looking at, but it seemed to be SHIELD’s MO. They would use an old army camp to start up their organization. That the office hadn’t been broken down completely and carted away meant that SHIELD still owned the place, but it was probably forgotten and buried deep in the SHIELD files.

Steve paused halfway down the room, turning his head at the puff of air that he could feel against his side. He glanced up at the ceiling, almost expecting to see Liberty digging his way in. Steve frowned up at the ceiling before pressing his hand against the bookshelf, jerking it back when the shelf slid a little bit under the pressure. He pressed harder, staring at the elevator that the bookshelf revealed.

Natasha popped up by his elbow, her gun trained on the elevator before she lowered it. Steve turned his head to look at her, Natasha returning the favor with a quirked eyebrow. “Secret elevator in a secret office?”

“It’s SHIELD.”

“You said it was pre-SHIELD.”

“Doesn’t mean they were any less secretive.”

“Well, let’s go poke around.” Natasha pushed past him, one hand slipping into her pocket to pull out her cell phone.

Steve pivoted to cover her as she worked on the elevator, his gaze sliding over the three pictures on the other side of the room. He pulled his gaze away from them quickly, looking up at the ceiling.

The SSR hadn’t seemed to discriminate against dragons, but he couldn’t see a way for any dragons to get in. A courier weight might have been able to squeeze through the door, but they wouldn’t have been able to get into the elevator. That didn’t stop him from looking at the ceiling, expecting Liberty to be pushing through at any minute.

He turned his head as the elevator wheezed open. He exchanged a quick look with Natasha before stepping into it. Steve winced when the elevator jerked slightly under their weight, but it moved smoothly once it was in motion. He sighed and leaned against the wall, staring at the doors. “What’s the backup plan?”

“You have one?” Natasha shrugged and shoved her phone back into her pocket. “I thought you would always be the one with an exit plan.”

“Someone’s been lying.”

He didn’t get a chance to hear what she had to say because the elevator came to a stop. Steve winced at the groaning of the inner mechanisms as the doors slid open, tempted to reach out and haul them open himself. The elevator persevered, Steve slipping out of the doors as soon as they were open.

The room was dark for the first few steps out of the elevator, but then the lights began to flicker on. Steve turned his head from side to side, looking at the banks of what looked like film, their metal cases filling up the room save for an aisle down the center. Steve spared a quick glance at the console at the end of the aisle, going back to looking around the room. The elevator seemed to be their only way in and out, but he could hear a faint scratching coming from one point just to his right, but it was so faint that he didn’t think it would be a problem. It was probably some piece of loose metal or rats.

He played with the straps on his shield, giving the elevator one last glance before following Natasha to the console. The computer looked ancient, large and clunky compared to the sleek consoles that Steve was used to seeing. The whole thing made the USB drive sitting next to the keyboard look strangely out of place.

He leaned against the console, watching as Natasha worked at the keyboard. She flashed him a playful smile, her hands hovering above the keyboard. “Shall we play a game?” She paused for a moment before shrugging. “It’s from a movie that-”

“Yeah, I saw that.” Steve ignored the disappointed look on her face, his attention drawn to the slight twitch of the camera that was bolted onto one of the monitors. The monitor crackled to like a moment later, vertical green bars flickering on and off. Steve could almost see them forming a face, but none of them remained stable enough for him to be sure.

They were just starting to come together when the speakers let out a burst of static that resolved itself into a grating voice. “Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984. Sentinel of Liberty. Born, 1914.”

Steve turned around to stare towards the back of the room. He saw a grate hanging on a hinge, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Liberty’s head hanging down. The dragon nodded at him before lowering his head further, Steve guessing from the snarl that crossed the dragon’s face that he was in a tight place. Steve raised his hand to motion Liberty back. He and Natasha were fine, they didn’t need Liberty getting stuck trying to get to him. Liberty huffed by went still, his head tipped slightly so he could look at the console.

Steve reached out to touch Natasha’s shoulder, the two of them stepping slightly to the side to clear Liberty’s line of sight. The dragon craned his head, staring fixedly at the main monitor. “Sounds like a recording.”

“I am _not_ a recording. I may not be the man I was when you took me prisoner in 1945, but I am.” Pictures flickered across the screen, Steve watching for a moment before the resolution cleared enough for him to see it. Liberty seemed to recognize the face just as much as he did, the dragon hissing and leaning forward until the metal creaked.

Natasha had snatched up her gun again, although she hadn’t aimed it yet. She glanced between the two of them before raising her shoulder in an almost careless shrug. “You know this thing?”

“Zola.” Liberty growled out the name, Steve noticing that the pixilated face almost looked smug.

He narrowed his eyes, using his free hand to motion for Liberty to stand down. “It’s Arnim Zola. German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He should have been dead for years by now.”

The smug look on Arnim’s face disappeared, Steve feeling a bit better for the offended look on his face. “First correction, I am _Swiss_. Second, look around you, I have never been more alive.”

Steve turned to look at the room, watching as the reels started clicking. More of them were moving now and at greater speed. Steve curled his fingers around the strap of his shield, keeping his other hand outstretched towards Liberty. He glanced over at the dragon, but Liberty was glancing around just as warily as he was. Liberty stretched his head out to touch the edge of one of the containers before shaking his head.

Arnim laughed, some of the reels clacking louder with the sound. “In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however, was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain.”

Liberty made a disgusted sound, giving the data bank closest to him a hiss. “So that’s what Operation Paperclip was really doing?”

“Operation Paperclip?”

Natasha was the one to answer his question. “Post-World War II operation. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value.”

Liberty snarled. “You were supposed to be on our side.”

Arnim didn’t seem to be intimidated by the angry dragon. “I helped their cause and my own.”

Steve huffed, relaxing a fraction. “The last I heard, you were begging to be kept safe from the Red Skull.”

“He was not the most forgiving.” Arnim seemed almost sheepish about admitting that, but Steve didn’t care.

He lowered the arm that he had kept out towards Liberty, trusting that the dragon would remain in place. The dragon was in a good place, even if he was more outside of the room than in. He might not have been able to get at the data banks with his claws or teeth, but he could still breathe fire on them. Steve wasn’t sure what kind of film that they had used to hold Zola’s mind, but he was pretty sure that it would burn nicely.

Steve waited until Liberty gave him a slow nod before he turned his full attention on Arnim. “Why bother? Hydra died with the Red Skull.”

“Cut off on head, two more shall take its place.”

Steve wanted to scoff at the statement, he had heard it enough in the war. He and the Howling Commandos had cut off plenty of Hydra’s heads and the growing back had never seemed to happen. More often than not, Hydra had gone scurrying back to the Red Skull or had fallen apart.

Arnim must have sensed his disbelief, the camera on the monitor twitching before it moved slightly. “Accessing archive.”

Images started to flash up on the screen, moving too fast for Steve or the monitor to process properly. Thankfully, they cycled through, Steve staring at the pictures and files of Operation Paperclip, all of them focusing on Howard, Peggy or Arnim. Through it all Arnim kept talking in his horrible, grating voice.

“Hydra was founding on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new Hydra grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years Hydra has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed.”

Steve felt like the bottom of his stomach had dropped out. He stared at the images that were flashing across the screen, pictures of modern actions and disasters popping up among the first pictures of SHIELD. He gritted his teeth and took a step back, hearing Liberty’s rumbling growl behind him.

Natasha was the only one to lean forward, her hand sliding closer to the USB. “Impossible. You worked with the top scientists of the time. Someone would have spotted what you were doing.”

“Accidents will happen.” A news article flashed up on the screen, Steve’s attention drawn to a picture of Howard and a woman before he was drawn by the headline.

 **HOWARD AND MARIA STARK DIE IN CAR ACCIDENT**.

Steve shook his head, staring at the headline with slow dawning comprehension. He had heard Tony mention his parents’ accident, but Steve had read enough about it in the files. It had just been a car accident, it had seemed like nothing too different. A slick road, Howard driving too fast, the card spinning out. There had been _nothing_ , but that made it worse.

Howard would have figured out what Arnim and his conspirators were doing, Howard would have been the first to notice any secret organizations. If Howard had been killed, then he _had_ noticed.

Steve had barely moved through the logic when there was an enraged roar from the back of the room. He turned, watching as Liberty roared again, bits of flames and sparks already falling from his mouth. The opening that he was half outside was bending as the dragon shoved against it with all of his strength. Steve was torn between telling Liberty to stop or just let the dragon batter his way in. As it was, he was tempted to allow the latter.

The metal frame came loose from its place, Liberty lowering one foot to the ground to balance himself. From the way that he was writhing, the dragon was trying to get the other one down on the floor as well. Fire was still flickering at the back of Liberty’s throat, although it was bursting out with every breath he breathed out. The roar, however had turned into words, although Steve could barely pick them out of the rumble that surrounding the words.

“YOU DID THAT?! TO HOWARD? TO MARIA? THEY WERE _MINE_ , YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO TOUCH THEM!”

Steve took a step back, the motion automatic, but he didn’t intend to stop Liberty, not when his own mind was still reeling in shock.

There was a crackle from the speakers, the repetition of the sound more like a chuckle than anything else. Arnim’s face on the screen jerking up slightly, like he was trying to meet Liberty’s gaze, but he couldn’t quite make it so he looked smugger than anything else.

“Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, Hydra's new world order will arise.” Arnim looked back at him, the smug look still on his face. “We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum.”

Steve acted before he could think, rushing forward on the flood of anger that filled him. He could still hear Liberty roaring in the background, demanding answers for what Hydra had done. Then there was the satisfying crunch of glass, and the speaker going dead. He wouldn’t have to hear the crackling laughter or see Arnim’s pixilated face.

He panted for breath, his ears ringing with the echoes of Liberty’ roars. He looked up at the ruined monitor before stumbling back. Steve could feel the sharp pain of glass in his fingers, but he ignored it in favor of taking deep breaths, trying to resist the urge to bring the shield down on the console until there was nothing left.

He had beaten Hydra, he had chased them across Europe and dug them out of every hole he had found them. He had crashed a plane into the ice to keep Hydra from destroying the world. He had put everything he had into stopping Hydra and the only consolation for everything he had lost had been the fact that they had been wiped from the face of the world.

The only sound in the room was the sound of creaking metal, Steve turning around to look at the ruined hatch that Liberty had nearly pulled himself through to get to Arnim.

The dragon was slumped forward, looking like he was going to slide limply into the room. Liberty’s nose nearly touched the floor, the dragon panting for breath. When he did move, it was to look over at Steve. He made a pained sound, shifting to get closer to the two of them. “Steve…”

He nodded and motioned for Liberty to stay where he was. He would come to the dragon, he wanted to get away from the console and the sound of the data banks whirring around him. At least they had stopped when Arnim had gone offline.

Steve leaned against the console for a moment, feeling his anger slip away, leaving him drained. He sighed and glanced over at Natasha, intending to motion for her to continue working on the USB when the data banks whirred to life.

He stumbled back from the console as the camera on top of the monitor twitched, one of the secondary monitors starting up again. Steve’s stomach dropped when Arnim’s face appeared again.

It looked at the two of them, Steve sure that he wasn’t imagining the annoyance on Arnim’s face. “As I was saying... What's on this drive? Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm.”

Steve barely heard the answer, a roaring filling his ears. Steve wasn’t sure if it was just in his mind or if Liberty was really roaring again. He was just staring at the monitor.

Thankfully Natasha didn’t seem to have the same problem. She leveled her gun at the monitor, staring at it for a moment before shifting her aim to one of the data banks. “So, what does this algorithm do?”

The data banks made a grinding noise, the hairs on the back of Steve’s neck rising with the sound. “The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.”

Liberty growled at the threat, but Natasha didn’t seem to notice. She had whipped out her phone and was staring at it. “Steve, we’ve got company.”

He shot Arnim a glare before stepping closer to Natasha, looking down at her phone. The map was back up, their location flashing bright red, but there was another blip. Steve watching it blink on an off before Natasha muttered a curse. “We’ve got a bogey.”

Steve cursed and spun to look at Liberty. The dragon was still staring at the screen, a heartbroken expression on his face. Steve took a step forward, jumping at the high pitched grind of gears.

He turned to look at the console, surprised to see that Arnim wasn’t saying anything. He pivoted, his eyes widening as he another set of doors in front of the elevator sliding shut.

Steve pulled back his arm, flinging his shield at the doors. The shield flew straight but slammed into the doors just as they closed. Steve stepped forward to grab it as it came back, shooting a quick look at Natasha.

She shook her head and tucked the phone away. “We don’t have time.”

“Find a place to hunker down.” Steve rushed towards Liberty, motioning the dragon to move. “Back up.”

“Steve, he-”

“Later. Get up into the air and get far away from here.” Liberty opened his mouth to argue, but Steve made a wild gesture towards the wall. “Get into the air!”

Liberty snapped his mouth shut and pushed off of the floor. Steve could hear the rustle of the dragon’s scales and Liberty extracted himself from the hole. It was as fast as the dragon could move, but it still seemed too slow. Steve gave the hole one more look before jogging back to Natasha, glancing at the blinking mark that was the missile before looking around the room.

There was nothing but the console and data banks, nothing that they could use to hide from the impact. If Liberty hadn’t needed to move with speed, then he would have had the dragon haul both him and Natasha out, but there hadn’t been time and there hadn’t been the room.

“Steve?”

He shook his head as he stepped to the side. A grate rattled under his foot, Steve staring down into the darkness underneath it. He sucked in a quick breath before jumping to the side and reaching down to pull it up. Steve tossed the grate to one side, feeling an arm brush against his as Natasha jumped down into the space. He slid in after her, hefting the shield above his head as he landed in a crouch.

Natasha was quick to curl herself into a ball close to him, one hand grabbing onto his shirt. Steve wrapped his free arm around her, ducking his head so he was mostly covered by the shield.

Above him he could hear Arnim’s grating voice, but whatever the computer was saying what cut off by a large explosion.

He grunted as he felt one of the walls fall towards him, barely keeping himself from falling onto Natasha. Steve gritted his teeth as rocks pinged off the shield, each one making his arm shake. More rubble fell around them, Steve feeling Natasha slip slightly from underneath him. He scrambled to pull her back under the safety of the shield but she went limp just as the wall behind him collapsed.

He was shoved forward, Steve reaching out with one hand to slap it against the leaning wall across from him. He kept his shield up, trying to cover the two of them as the rocks kept falling. Steve took a deep breath and closed his eyes, waiting for the sound of falling chunks of concrete to stop.

It seemed to take forever for quiet to return, Steve almost surprised when it did. There were times when he thought he could hear the shifting of the rocks, Steve bracing himself for them to press further inward, but they didn’t. Then he was left with the sound of his own breath in the tight space.

He opened his eyes, staring at nothing as he tried to adjust them to the darkness. He could feel the pieces of rubble pressed against his back and the shield above them. It felt like thousands of tons, Steve feeling the arm holding up the shield starting to shake. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, listening carefully for anything beyond the sound of shifting concrete.

The explosion had stopped, as had the falling rubble. Steve was sure that the whole bunker was demolished by now. But what he was really listening for was the sound of wing beats or the sound of a dragon in pain, although the latter wasn’t something that he wanted to hear.

There was nothing, Steve breathing out a sigh of relief. Nothing was better than the worst, but nothing also meant that it was time to go.

Someone had sent that missile and Steve had a pretty good guess at who had sent it. The more important things were the sound, the noise and the light. All of that would draw whatever dragon had been following them, as well as the other dragons in the area. They had to be gone by the time any of them got there.

Steve braced himself as best as he could before pushing the shield upward. He could hear chunks of rubble falling away, but the larger pieces bore back down on him. He shifted his weight, lifting his other hand so he could shove the shield up. More rubble fell, but it wasn’t enough that Steve thought he could lower the shield and the rocks would hold.

He cursed under his breath, shifting to find a better position to shove the rocks away when he heard a loud thump from close by. Some of the rubble shifted again, but Steve was too busy staring in the direction that the sound had come from.

There was a beat of silence before Steve heard claws scrambling against the rubble. “Steve? Natasha?”

“Liberty!”

The dragon grunted and set his claws against the rocks again, Steve holding still as he heard Liberty hauling the heavier sections away. Little by little, the weight disappeared from on top of his shield, Steve finally able to stand upright and push the rest of the rubble off of them.

He got a glimpse of a dark shape working above them, Liberty pausing for a moment, his head tilted. Then the dragon was back at work, backing away from the pile of rubble. Steve turned to follow him, watching as Liberty duck his claws into a gap between two slabs.

The dragon braced himself against the weight, making awkward hops back with the help of his wings as he pulled. The two slabs grated against each other before they both fell outward, Liberty quick to abandon his hold and rush forward.

Steve stood still as the dragon poked his muzzle into the gap, feeling the dragon’s tongue flick against him before he moved on to Natasha. Steve reached out to pat Liberty’s neck. “She’s alright.”

Liberty huffed and backed out of the small space, lifting his head up to look at the sky. He tipped his head from side to side, probably listening for anything approaching.

Steve took the chance to bend down and scoop up Natasha, sighing when he heard her mutter something. He didn’t catch all of what she said, but he breathed a sigh of relief anyway. He adjusted his hold on her, staring at the side of her head as it rolled gently to one side. There was a line of blood coming from a small gash, but it didn’t look fatal. He got a better hold on Natasha and stepped out of the rubble, walking over to where Liberty was crouching on the ground.

The Firecracker didn’t lower his head, he kept turning it from side to side as he scanned the horizon. His wings were half open, Steve watching as Liberty clawed at the ground. “Wingbeats.” Liberty flicked his tongue out into the air. “We have to move.”

Steve nodded and stepped quickly over the rubble. Liberty offered a hand to him, Steve stepping into it so the dragon could lift them onto his back.

He fumbled for Natasha’s carabiner straps as he stepped onto Liberty’s back, finding one as he crouched down. Steve clipped her in first, tugging at the straps to make sure that they held before he turned his attention to his own straps. He clipped the carabiners into place, not caring if they weren’t in their usual position or that the shield bumped against him awkwardly. All that mattered was that both he and Natasha were secure.

As soon as it was done, he reached slapped a hand against Liberty’s back. “Go.”

Liberty grunted and leapt from the ground, already turning with the leap so he would be sailing over Camp Lehigh’s gate. Steve felt the dragon jerk as a leg caught against the gate, but then they were rising. Steve leaned over, checking for any blood, relieved when there wasn’t any. He didn’t need Liberty hurt, not when it would slow them down and leave a trail. Steve still stroked a hand over Liberty’s back, using the one that wasn’t holding Natasha steady.

He turned to look over his shoulder at the ruins of the camp, sighing at the destruction that he saw. There would be no way of reviving whatever Arnim Zola had become, even if he wanted to. Steve doubted that Zola would have given them more, he had been too busy gloating over whatever he had accomplished. If there were any answers, then they would be back at the Triskelion, the one place they couldn’t return to.

They would have to eventually. He was not going to let Hydra flourish in any form, not when he had done so much to get rid of it.

Steve frowned, looking up towards where Liberty was flying with his head cocked to the side. He could only see the corner of Liberty’s eye, but the dragon was listening. Steve sighed and continued the steady motion of his hand over Liberty’s scales. “We’ll find a place to set down for the night.”

“No.”

“You can’t go flying all over the country.”

“I won’t.” The words came out as a snarl, Steve feeling the sound rumbling through Liberty. “Hydra is still out there. They killed Howard and Maria. And I _worked_ for them.”

Liberty jerked a little in his flight, Steve sure that Liberty was going to contort himself to work off his anger, but the dragon kept flying straight. If anything, he flew faster, beating his wings harder in the absence of warm thermals. Liberty kept silent for a moment before his muzzle dropped slightly. “Steve, I’ve been working for the organization that murdered them. All this time…and Tony…Tony…”

Liberty’s body shuddered with the name, his muzzle dipping down. Steve was tempted to unhook himself and climb up Liberty’s neck to comfort him when the dragon jerked his head up. Liberty turned his head from side to side before settling on a direction. “They’ll go after Tony next. He’ll hear about it and he’ll look into it. JARVIS has been inside SHIELD once, he’ll do it again.”

“Liberty-”

“They’ll kill him like they killed Howard! We have to warn him.”

“They’ll follow us!” Steve ducked his head as soon as he finished shouting. He turned his gaze towards the sky, watching for dragon wings. They were clear for the moment, but he doubted that it would last for long. Steve turned to look back at the camp, not surprised to see lights flickering in the ruins. He nodded back towards the camp, sure that Liberty could see the motion. “A dragon is back there already.”

“I see.”

“Tony can handle himself.” Liberty puffed himself up, ready to argue. Steve shook his head, patting Liberty’s back. “And he probably wouldn’t run if we came and got him. He’s stubborn.”

Liberty snorted, but he didn’t adjust his course. “He’d be helpful.”

Steve sighed, tempted to give into the idea. Having Tony around would be useful, just like having the rest of the Avengers would be helpful. And it was tempting to call them. It wouldn’t take long, just a short flight up to New York and then to the Avengers Tower. Liberty could hide in the basement while Tony called up the rest of them. Natasha could find where Clint was, and all of them could work on breaking into SHIELD.

And that’s exactly how they would get caught. Steve wouldn’t be surprised if there was already a dragon sitting by the tower, just waiting for them to fly in. And that’s how it would end, no matter how much Tony shouted or if Bruce Hulked out. One heavyweight and it was over.

He closed his eyes, breathing in a few deep breaths before he opened them again. “They’ll be waiting.”

Liberty turned his head to look at him properly, his wing beats slowing until he could glide. He studied Steve for a minute before cursing, his back bowing slightly with the force of his anger. Steve sat it out, watching as Liberty wrestled with the idea for a moment longer before he banked. “After this, we go right to Tony.”

Steve nodded, more than happy with the terms. He had no intention of going back to SHIELD, not when he was intending to tear it all down. If Hydra was as deeply rooted as Zola had implied, then it would take nothing less to find all of rot inside. After that, they would need a place to go and Steve didn’t feel like drifting through the modern world again. At least with the Avengers there was a focus, a purpose. And Liberty seemed to like the place, not that Steve could fault him for it. It was a good place, filled with good people. It would be the only place left open to them after SHIELD went down.

He nodded again. “After this, we go back to the tower.”

* * *

Two targets. Level six. Ten hours.

He repeated the words to himself as he checked and cleaned his guns. Two targets. Level six. Ten hours.

It was easy to pretend like he was ignoring the other people around him, they were the same people from when he had woken up. He still watched them carefully, glancing at them and then down the corridor where the machine was. He had seen it on his way out to the last mission, and some part of him wanted to avoid it at all costs. He didn’t know if it was because of some half-forgotten dream or because the machine looked imposing. Both were very likely.

He turned the cleaning cloth over, looking for a spot that wasn’t coated in oil. He used the chance to watch the next group of men scurrying through the room, probably on business, or probably trying to avoid him. They had done that since he was awake. It had been amusing for a while, to watch them run to avoid his gaze, but the game had soured quickly. It was better to focus on the mission.

Two targets. Level six. Ten hours.

He fitted a part back to his gun, jiggling it a bit to set it into place. He examined the gun, nudging the part into a better place before settling the gun over his knees.

He stared out into the small room that he had been given. Everything was nearly prepared, all he had to do was wait until he was sent out again. Until then, he had to just keep repeating his mission, checking his equipment and ignoring the way that everything fell into the beat of a dragon’s wings.

* * *

Tony drummed out a rhythm on the arc reactor, tapping out a quick light message in the code that had been used on dragons up until World War I. He was sure that, if any dragons could see into the lab, they would just get a string of nonsense letters and numbers as he read through the Extremis code.

Pulling it apart had been easier than putting it back together. Tony frowned and leaned forward, watching a line of information scroll past. It was reading like all the other tests he had run, which was that subduing the virus completely would be much harder than just inhibiting it.

He had managed to give Pepper that early one, within weeks of Steve and Liberty flying back down to DC. Pepper had been thrilled with anything, although she had seemed to enjoy joining Bruce in his daily mediation sessions. If he remembered correctly, some lucky photographer had managed to snap a picture of the CEO of Stark Industries leaving a yoga class. At least she was no longer mincing around like she expected everything she touched to go up in flames.

Not that things going up in flames wasn’t still an option. Inhibited wasn’t gone, and Pepper had been clear that she had wanted the thing gone.

Tony spun his chair around, flicking his fingers at the hologram display to move the data around. It was better than the other synthesized cures that he had made. This one didn’t look like it was going to rip her immune system apart.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, frowning when he heard the faint beep of a notification. Tony glanced over at Bruce’s work station, not surprised that the man was gone.

Bruce was one to keep regular hours unless a project required speed. It was part of his Hulk Containment Regimen. The green guy was more likely to appear if Bruce was getting frustrated or hungry. If that was the case, then Bruce was just a level down, probably making some kind of unholy concoction from the leftovers in the fridge. The thought was almost enough to tempt Tony down, but he held himself back. Running one more test couldn’t hurt, not when JARVIS was just as focused on the task.

The notification tone came again, Tony ready to ignore it or send JARVIS to alert Bruce when the AI beat him to the punch.

“Sir, I am receiving a call from Agent Rumlow from SHIELD.”

“Rumlow?” Tony crossed his arms over his chest, staring through the hologram. “I don’t know a Rumlow.”

“He knows you, sir. He says it’s urgent.”

“Let him leave a message. I’m busy.” Tony stood up, moving the hologram to one side with a sweep of his hand. He would get back around to Agent Rumlow when he was done with the next test. There were plenty of small successes that he could build on, maybe not enough to build a complete cure, but at least it was something.

“I realize that, sir, but he insists that I put him through. It’s something about Captain Rogers and Captain Liberty.”

Tony looked up from the vials of Extremis that he had managed to wrest from SHIELD. He stared at the red liquid in the vials, drumming his fingers against the counter until the names registered in his head. “Liberty? I thought he was back on the old grind back at SHIELD.”

“Perhaps it would be prudent to speak to Agent Rumlow.”

Tony sighed and pushed away from the counter, making a vague motion. “Okay, J. Let’s talk to the agent.”

“Very good, sir.”

Another hologram came up, Tony scrolling through it as he waited for JARVIS to patch the call through. There was no reason that he couldn’t look into just who was calling him and what was going on.

“M – _crackle_ – Stark?”

Tony jerked his head up at the static. He frowned, about to tell JARVIS to tweak the call when he realized that there was also the sound of rushing wind. He shifted his weight back, staring at the picture of Agent Rumlow that JARVIS had pulled up for him. So the good agent was in flight, interesting.

“ _Crackle_ – Stark?”

“I’ve got you. Although you might want to roll up a window.”

If Rumlow heard the joke, the agent didn’t acknowledge it. The agent just spoke up again, this time louder, like he had moved closer to whatever he was using to contact the tower. “Protocol doesn’t usually allow this, but we’re at a loss. Captain Rogers and Liberty were in your area investigating a strange signal we got and they haven’t reported back.”

“Okay, so you’ve lost a dragon.” Tony tried to keep his voice calm, his mind already running through the various things that could have happened to a dragon on a flight from DC to New York. “Why call me?”

“You’re the only other person with a stable position that Liberty would have flown to if he was in danger. We were hoping that, if anything went on, habit would take over.”

Tony hummed, manipulating the hologram in front of him to move Rumlow’s information over. SHIELD’s databases weren’t the easiest to hack, but JARVIS had gotten in once, it wouldn’t be too hard to get him in again. He wouldn’t be going in too deep anyway, just enough to see what Steve was doing.

The movement of his fingers came to an abrupt halt when he saw a division wide notification of Nick Fury’s death. Tony narrowed his eyes, pulling the notice aside before pushing deeper. Certainly if the director of SHIELD died, there would be more than a few paragraphs about it.

“Stark.”

“Still here, just checking…” He scanned for Steve or Liberty’s name in the documents that JARVIS was pulling up, holding up a hand when he found a short memo that had been sent out to all SHIELD agents. Tony pulled it forward, frowning as he read the order.

Steve and Liberty had gone rogue and there were orders to capture on sight. Tony stared at the words used. ‘ _By any means necessary.’_ That was one step away than _‘shoot on sight_ ’ and Tony wanted to know what the two of them had done to deserve something like that. Liberty was usually laid back enough not to get himself in trouble. If the dragon had followed, that meant that Steve had done a damn good job convincing the dragon to go along with the plan. Steve might have been stubborn, annoying so at times, but he wasn’t stupid.

Tony pulled the memo over, turning his attention back to the call that JARVIS was holding. “I’ve got nothing. If your dragon is running injured, he’s not here.”

“What about security tapes?”

“What do you think took me so long? We’ve got nothing on Liberty or Captain Rogers since the end of their leave.”

Rumlow cursed, the sound almost blown away by the wind. Tony frowned at the sound, looking over at the report of Fury’s death and the orders to bring the captain and his dragon in.

“It was worth a shot. Call if you see anything.”

“I’ll keep you up to date.” Tony shut off the call before Rumlow could say anything else, too engrossed in what JARVIS was pulling from SHIELD. There was an awful lot of information being passed along about Steve and Liberty, especially when they were supposed to have just gone AWOL on a routine mission.  The mission itself was suspicious, especially when he could find security footage of Steve plummeting through the glass ceiling and into the lobby of the Triskelion. That didn’t look like the actions of a man going on a mission. That looked like the actions of a man going on the run.

Tony scratched his chin, looking back at the latest Extremis test results. He had needed something to do while they ran the next test. Figuring out what Steve and Liberty were up to had to be interesting enough. He had plenty of stuff to dig through.

He turned to look at the two things that he had singled out, scrutinizing the memo. Agent Rumlow had made a mistake in involving him, because now he was curious. Besides, he had a few favors to make up with Liberty. The dragon had come flying after him twice now. It was only fair that he return the favor, and possibly round up some back up in case they had to go down to DC and wrangle Steve and Liberty out of whatever trouble they had gotten themselves into.

Tony took a step back, watching as JARVIS continued pulling easy files away from SHIELD. “JARVIS, run the next Extremis test and keep giving me what you can find on Steve and Liberty.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And get the number Clint left us while you’re at it.” Tony hooked a chair with his foot, pulling it close to him and sinking into it.  “We might need to go save our dragon.”

* * *

Sam leaned back against his counter, pressing the container of orange juice to his head as he tried to catch his breath. He had stayed out a bit later than usual on his morning run, halfway expecting to see Steve somewhere along the way, but the man hadn’t shown up. It wasn’t a rare thing, Steve was probably gone for work. Sam was tempted to write it off as an Avengers thing, but he hadn’t heard anything on the news.

He shook his head and lowered the carton, about to open it when he heard a jingle from the yard. Sam listened hard for a moment before shaking his head. The sound wasn’t unusual, but the hiss that followed after it was.

Sam left the carton of orange juice on the counter, walking quickly to the door and pulling it open. He glanced around, spotting what he was looking for nearly immediately. “Redwing!”

The dragon didn’t pay him much attention, his attention on something out just beyond their fenced in yard. The cream and brown dragon already had his wings mantled, trying to look larger than he really was. The position showed off the darker brown banding on the dragon’s wings, as well as the bright splashes of red along the back edge of his wings, along his side and down his tail.

Redwing glanced back at him, the dragon jerking his head back to the house. “Get back inside.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s another dragon out there.” Redwing turned his attention back to the fence, rising up on his hind legs. His head jerked from side to side as he tried to pinpoint what he had smelled, and then he went completely still. Sam watched the dragon tremble for a moment before Redwing made three quick hops to the fence, his wings flaring out with each jump.

When he had gained the fence Redwing braced himself on it, his wings spread wide for balance. “Show yourself! Stop skulking in the shadows!”

Sam turned his gaze towards the woods behind the house, waiting for someone to appear. When no one did, Sam stepped down from the back deck.

He wasn’t surprised when Redwing whipped his head around, the dragon staring at him before shaking his head. “Sam, get back in the house. It’s not safe.”

Sam scoffed at that, but stopped at the base of the stairs. There were only a few things that bothered Redwing now, not like the days when Sam had finally managed to get permission to bring the feral dragon back from Afghanistan. Back then, Redwing had jumped at every sound, only calming when Sam had given him the dog tags that jingled around his neck and knocked against his breast collar.

Redwing watched him for a moment, probably judging his safety before he turned back to look at the woods. He hissed, attempting to puff himself up more as he stared fixedly at a point.

Sam looked out into the woods, expecting to see one of the feral dragons that would sometimes skirt through the wooded areas as they migrated from place to place. Redwing had stopped alerting him to every person and their dog that came through the woods. He might eye them warily, but most of the fear had disappeared.

Redwing flapped his wings, probably about to challenge again when a section of the trees moved. Sam watched sections of the tops wave, as whatever was in the forest started to shove its way through and felt his heart start to beat faster. Whatever Redwing had caught the scent of, it was bigger than the smaller dragon could handle. Even most courier weights were larger than him, they’d had the advantage of being fed regularly and with better food. From what little Sam had figured out about Redwing, the dragon had been like all the other ferals in the area, scraping by on what food they could find. Any size difference still wouldn’t stop Redwing from throwing himself at the other dragon.

Sam stepped away from the porch, ignoring the distressed noise that Redwing made as he came closer to the fence. The feral gave up his threat display, quickly coiling himself around Sam to protect him. Sam rested a hand on Redwings back, feeling the dragon tremble before he became completely still.

He looked out towards the forest, sighing with relief when he saw Steve coming down form the forest. He frowned at the woman who was walking beside her, something in her face familiar, but he was distracted by the great blue, red and white scaled head that appeared out of the forest.

At the sight of Liberty, Redwing hissed and flared his wings out, practically knocking Sam upside the head. He winced and reached out, careful not to take too strong of a hold on the dragon’s wing as he leaned out to get a better look at them. Both Steve and the woman looked like they were ready to drop, and Liberty had a thick layer of mud and dust over his scales, obscuring most of the red. He frowned, stroking the edge of the wing that he had before letting it go.

When Redwing didn’t move, his dragged his fingers down the dragon’s spine. “I know them.”

Redwing snorted, uncoiling himself enough that Sam could step forward but no more. He still had his wings spread slightly, his gaze not moving from where Liberty was still crouched in the trees. Sam knew better than to try to drag Redwing back, it was easier to let the dragon watch and see, it was the only way that Redwing could come to trust anything.

He stepped carefully over Redwing’s tail, walking over to the fence and leaning on it. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“We didn’t expect to be here.” Steve gave him a weary smile before coming to lean on the fence. Sam watched the man’s gaze dart to where Redwing was pressed against the fence before it focused back on him. “I’m sorry to impose on you like this, but we need a place to stay.”

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us.”

Sam looked at the woman in surprise, but she seemed to be perfectly serious and half asleep on her feet. He dragged his gaze back over to Steve, waiting for any further explanation, but Steve just shook his head. If anything, that was a request for later, something that Sam was willing to give them.

He reached out to rest his hand against Redwing, giving the dragon a shove to move him over from the gate. Redwing moved away from the gate, but he grabbed onto the next section of fence, stretching his neck out to sniff at the two. The dragon kept glancing back at Liberty, like he expected the other dragon to come charging in, but Liberty had already settled down under the cover of the trees with a long sigh.

The trees were probably the best place for Liberty if someone was trying to kill the three of them like the woman had said. There was a stream somewhere back there and Sam had a container full of food, although it would take some convincing for Redwing to give up a share, especially when he was still wary of Liberty.

Sam reached out to pat Redwing’s side again, moving towards the dragon to get out of the way of the gate. He leaned back against Redwing as Steve and the woman went through, nodding his head towards the house. “The door is open. There’s a shower and guest bedroom up the stairs, first and second left.”

The woman nodded and shuffled toward the porch. Steve was the one to stop, the man resting a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“No, but you can explain this to me.”

Steve sighed, looking exhausted as he nodded.

Sam smiled at that, reaching out to pat Steve’s shoulder. “Go on, before you fall down.”

Steve stumbled away, Sam shutting the gate behind him. He stared at the wooden fence, playing with a splinter on top of it. The fence wouldn’t really stop anything that came over and certainly not a dragon. If someone was after Captain America, then Sam was sure that whoever they were would bring in firepower. He glanced towards the houses on either side of his own before looking over at Liberty.

The Firecracker would certainly wake up if anything came their way, but Sam wasn’t about to leave things to chance. He reached back and tapped Redwing. “Stay alert.”

The dragon nodded, bounding away from him before climbing onto the pile of firewood off to one side of the yard. Redwing clambered on top of it, curling his tail around himself as his head jerked from side to side. If any dragon came close, then Redwing would call out a warning. Sam’s gaze dropped to the two sets of dog tags strung just above Redwing’s breast collar, listening to them jingle with every move of the dragon’s head.

That sound would be warning enough, he would only have to worry when the dragon’s head went still.

* * *

Natasha drummed her fingers against the top of the car, keeping it to a bored tempo instead of worried. There was a slight difference, one that she had studied. Bored was changeable and, sometimes, recognizable, to the tune of a popular song and sometimes with a head bob. Natasha preferred to leave the head bob out, it looked like she was listening to music instead of just standing. She sighed and shifted her weight, using the motion to scan the soldiers in the immediate area.

The soldiers weren’t standing guard, they were moving around. They all seemed relaxed and completely at ease. Natasha resisted the urge to narrow her eyes and stare, that would just make her look suspicious and draw attention to her. So far, the soldiers were just glancing over at her and giving her the quick once over that most people gave to strangers. Some lingered longer, but Natasha was adept at ignoring those looks.

She shifted again, resting both her arms against the roof of the car and tipping her chin up slightly. It was the picture of boredom, a girlfriend dragged onto the base while her boyfriend showed the famous Captain America around. The corner of her mouth twitched up before she could stop it, Natasha letting the expression cross her face. It would look more natural that way.

Sam’s plan had not been her favorite for a few reasons, the foremost the fact that they were walking into a US Army fort in broad daylight while both she and Steve were wanted. Sam had insisted that they wouldn’t be noticed.

SHIELD might have started out attached to the army, but it was its own agency now. Besides, he couldn’t think of a reason that SHIELD would want to share that they were after Captain America. All of the reasons that they had come up with on the car ride over had been waved off easily. Neither Sam nor Steve could think of a soldier who would believe any of the excuses that SHIELD came up with, not without questioning. Natasha thought that the two of them were too trusting of soldiers.

Then again, spies were completely different from soldiers.

She sighed and stopped her drumming, looking back towards the building that Sam and Steve had disappeared into with their jovial companion. Natasha felt that it was taking too long, but she wasn’t including the fawning. From the expression on the man’s face, there would be a lot of fawning and probably introductions to all of the superior officers. It was the perfect distraction from what they were really after.

Natasha was sure that it would have been a good plan, if it didn’t hinge so heavily on people believing what Sam and Steve were telling them. She would have preferred sneaking in at night and extracting the EXO-7 Falcon then. There was less relying on the whimsical nature of people, less risk of being wrong about their assumptions about SHIELD and they could have done it while Liberty was awake and ready to act as their back up. After working with a dragon for so long, Natasha had come to prefer the ease that came with being airlifted from danger instead of driving away.

That and she wasn’t exactly sure that she trusted the dragon that Sam had left it charge. It wasn’t that she thought that the two dragons would fight, Liberty was far too tired for that, it was just that she didn’t know the dragon. What she didn’t know she was wary of.

She looked down at her left hand, spreading her fingers out on the roof. The car was warm under her hand, almost as warm as Liberty. She stroked the top of the car with a faint smile. It had been a while since she had been sent on a mission without Liberty standing by or within radio distance. Natasha absently rubbed at the ear where her comm unit would be, not surprised when it wasn’t there. She had dumped it back at SHIELD at the end of their mission to the _Lemurian Star_ and she hadn’t gone back for it.

That didn’t stop her from missing it like she missed a limb or the gun she had lost at Camp Lehigh. Compared to what they were up against, a vibranium shield, dragons’ claws and fire didn’t seem like enough. The EXO-7 might be enough, but what little she had seen of the schematics, it didn’t look anything more than air support. Then again, it was a Stark design.

The sound of laughter made her lift her look across at the building. She raised her eyebrow when she saw a woman talking to Sam, the two of them grinning widely. Steve was standing off to the side, looking a bit out of place.

Natasha met his gaze, holding it until Steve gave her a short nod. She didn’t hide her smile then, slumping back against the car in true relaxation instead of a careful study in it. So they had managed to get the EXO-7, which was good for them, although Natasha couldn’t wait to hear how the two had managed it. There might be some heft in having Captain America there to see something, or throwing around Stark’s name, but she didn’t think that the army could be fooled that easily. Or maybe the combination was more powerful that she thought. Or maybe it was just Sam. He had mentioned that he knew a few people from his former squad had been stationed at Fort Meade.

Steve reached out to pat Sam’s shoulder, obvious saying his goodbyes to the woman before walking over to her. The woman paused in talking to Sam, a look of surprise crossing her face, but it was gone quickly when Sam drew her back into the conversation. Whatever they were talking about, it was something that the woman was enthusiastic about because her body language changed and she started gesturing a bit more.

Natasha watched the conversation until Steve reached her. She watched as Steve mirrored her position on the car. He sighed heavily and leaned his weight back until the car creaked, his gaze darting over to the fields where dragons would land, if there were any expected.

She followed her gaze, surprised to see that the field was empty. Natasha shook her head, shifting her hand so she could flick his arm. “You’re missing him.”

“Yeah.” Steve shrugged. “But it’s better that he rests. He hasn’t gotten much sleep over the past few days.”

“Neither have we.”

“He’s been doing most of the work.”

“He’s not the one who got bombed.”

“He had the sense to get out of the way.”

“Surprising, considering who he hangs around.”

“You know what, Romanoff…”

Natasha rolled her eyes, but gave up the back and forth in favor of nodding over towards where Sam and the woman are talking. “Who’s Sam playing catch up with?”

Steve glanced over before shrugging. “Sandra? She was in Sam’s unit over in Afghanistan. She didn’t get one of the special units, but she did end up with one of Redwing’s flock.”

Natasha hummed to show that she understood, watching the two of them laugh and talk. If anything, they were talking about their dragons, an innocent enough topic that wouldn’t be too suspicious. Sam might work their cover story in and then they would be gone, back to that same dragon that they had left in charge.

She frowned, curling her fingers in slightly. “Think they’ll play nice.”

“Liberty’s old enough to know when to throw his weight around.”

It was a carefully measured comment with just enough that Natasha could tell that Steve was reassuring himself as well. Liberty was usually a sensible dragon, but dragons weren’t usually chased out of their coverts and surprised by a resurgence of their old enemies. Any other dragon would have panicked. Natasha was still impressed that Liberty hadn’t gone rushing off to New York after hearing about Howard and Maria. She almost wished that she had been conscious for that conversation, because it would have taken a miracle to talk the dragon down.

She was tempted to ask Steve how he had managed to pull it off, but the conversation between Sam and Sandra came to an end. Sam waved at the woman before heading back over to him, Natasha finally seeing the case that he was carrying.

It didn’t look like a briefcase, it looked bulky and it was obviously something important. Natasha couldn’t imagine anyone carrying that around Afghanistan unless the case was just protection for whatever was within. She was sure that she had spotted the Stark Industries logo on the plans, which meant that it had to have cost the government a pretty penny. The only question if the EXO-7 had been made before Stark had stopped manufacturing weapons. Then again, she couldn’t imagine that an overly complex paratrooper equipment could be considered a weapon.

Then again, she and Tony both knew the government far better than they sometimes liked to admit.

She gave Sam a nod before slipping into the car. She tucked her legs up on the backseat, giving the passenger seat a playful thump when Steve sat back. “You’re taking all the leg room.”

“Well they are longer.”

Natasha snorted, reaching out to grab the case from Sam. She saw the way that his gaze lingered on the case, so she resisted the urge to open it up. They would be seeing the EXO-7 in action as soon, just as soon as they went back and collected their two dragons. Natasha was a firm believer in over preparing for a fight. Besides, they were going up against SHIELD, a little extra muscle would go a long way.

* * *

Liberty woke up to the smell of food, the familiar semi-dried smell of the usual dragon food and the vitamin powder. It wasn’t the sweet potato variation, Liberty lifted his head and taking a deep breath before shaking his head. It was squash.

He sighed and stared at the tub that was sitting in front of him, highly aware of the smaller dragon that was crouched a few paces back. The dragon didn’t look too hostile, but he didn’t look happy to be there. Liberty tipped his head to the side, watching the red and cream dragon shift without meeting his gaze. He was too tired to start a fight, even though he was sure that he would win. The dragon was barely courier weight.

Liberty reached out, his talons falling just short of the tub. When the dragon didn’t react, Liberty pulled the tub over to him and buried his nose into the food.

He tried to pace himself, but it was hard when he had been flying hard for hours. The dried pellet food tasted so much better on an empty stomach, so much so that Liberty wasn’t sure that he’d chose raw meat over the pellets. Liberty pulled his muzzle free from the tub to lick his lips, glancing at the dragon before quickly going back to his food. He didn’t want to try talking when all he could think about was how hungry he was.

It didn’t take long for him to demolish what was in the tub, Liberty pushing it away. He licked his lips again, trying to keep himself from glancing over at the tub. The dragon had shared their food willingly and he was not about to beg for more. He nudged the tub further away from him, putting it out of sight and out of mind as he studied the dragon.

The dragon seemed more interested in playing with the dog tags it had around his neck, the gentle clink the only sound in the forest.

Liberty gently uncoiled himself, shifting so he wasn’t squeezed uncomfortably between trees. He sighed when the pressure around his middle eased, Liberty able to resettle his wings. He turned his head back to look them over, wanting to make sure that he hadn’t damaged them when the missile had gone off. He had been flying away from the bunker when it had hit and the impact had tossed him around. Nothing had hurt while he was heading back to DC, but that wasn’t an indicator of anything. Liberty had heard of dragons flying until their wings were nothing but ragged scraps of membrane and he didn’t want to have that happen to him. He needed his wings whole for a little while longer.

He turned his head back around, giving the dragon a slow nod. “Thank you.”

The dragon shifted anxiously, not letting go of their dog tags. “Sam said that you would be hungry. He asked me if I minded sharing. Since you’re a friend of his…I didn’t mind.”

There was something in the way that he said that, but Liberty didn’t want to pry. There were more important things to do than to pick at the reason why the dragon resented sharing food with him, especially when it could so easily come down to size along. He outweighed the little dragon, which was threat enough.

Liberty lowered his head to rest it on the ground. It wouldn’t help with the threat, but at least he would have to make a visible effort to move. He considered the dragon from his new position, looking away when the dragon looked up from their dog tags. “So, is Sam your captain?”

“No.” The dragon sounded shocked by the question, Liberty daring to look over at them. The dragon had puffed himself up slightly, his wings spreading. “Sam was the one who brought me here. Back there it was full of sand and nothing to eat.”

Liberty let the silence fall between them, thinking over where Sam could have served before nodding. “Afghanistan.”

The dragon nodded. “There were other places, better places, but the larger dragons had them and they wouldn’t let us in. We were too small and weak to fight for the better places. So we stayed on the sand and close to the people, but they shot at us when we tried to get food.” The dragon stopped playing with his dog tags, setting both forelegs on the ground. “The Americans were better, they fed us scraps and let us sleep in their barracks. They actually liked us, unlike their dragons.”

Liberty snorted, hoping that the other dragon would take the sound in agreement. From the affronted look on the dragon’s face, he hadn’t. He quickly looked away in an apology before shuffling so he could pull one of his forelegs out from underneath his body. “Some are like that.”

From the look that the dragon gave him, he hadn’t decided if Liberty was one of them or not. He turned his head from side to side before shaking it. “The soldiers all brought us back when they could. My flock is somewhere in the US.”

“Do you miss them?”

The dragon rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “Do you miss your flock?”

Liberty opened his mouth to say that he’d never had one, but that wasn’t true. He had Viatrix and Fergal up with the New York side of SHIELD, and he had missed their company. He growled and dug his claws into the ground, ignoring the way that the dragon jumped.

Something was wrong with SHIELD, and Viatrix and Fergal were still inside. Liberty didn’t think that the STRIKE team would go after them blindly, but he was sure that it would work to get his attention, just like grabbing Tony would work. Then again, Viatrix and Fergal were smart enough to go before things got bad, or so he hoped. It was enough to make him want to fly back up to New York to make sure. But he couldn’t do that, not when it would just drag out what they had to do.

He got to his feet, walking for the edge of the forest. He didn’t know how long he had slept, but it would be enough. He wanted to find Steve and Natasha and get moving before Hydra did something else.

Liberty blinked as he stepped out into the sunlight, tipping his head to the side when he didn’t see people moving in the house. He lowered his head and stepped closer, wary about calling Steve’s name. Hydra could have ears anywhere.

He growled low to himself, his tail thumping against the trees as it lashed. He was so focused on the house that he missed the dragon bounding out of the woods until he heard the jingle of the dragon’s dog tags. Liberty turned his head to look down at the dragon. “Where are they?”

The dragon flicked out his tongue, his expression brightening. “Around the front, they just got back from getting it.”

“Getting what?”

“The thing that makes Sam fly.” The dragon gave him an amused look before bounding over the fence.

Liberty was slower to follow, stepping carefully over the fence with his forelegs before stopping. The small yard didn’t have the room for both him and the other dragon, and he was willing to cede to the dragon. It was his home after all, and the dragon was still wary of him.

The dragon didn’t seem to notice his hesitation, walking right up onto the back porch and scratching at the door. His first scratches didn’t meet with an answer, but the dragon didn’t seem worried. The dragon kept it up until Liberty saw someone move in the house.

Sam was quick to come through, propping open the door as he stepped out. The dragon bobbed his head before moving out of Sam’s way, twisting on himself so he was halfway propped on the railing of the porch and in one of the chairs that had been sent out around a small table. Sam sat down in the other chair, his hand going to rest on the dragon’s back. The dragon crooned, his eyes falling shut as Sam scratched the scales under one wing.

Liberty resettled his own wings, looking back at the house as Natasha dragged out a chair of her own. She gave him a nod before sinking down in the chair. He stretched his neck out, having to step carefully forward to be able to reach her. Natasha looked good, better than when he had dug her and Steve out of the rubble. The cut on her forehead had stopped bleeding, but she still looked tired.

He didn’t have much time to contemplate her, his attention distracted as Steve walked out onto the porch. His captain didn’t bring a chair out with him, preferring to lean against the railing.

Steve stared at him for a moment before patting the railing to one side of him. Liberty cautiously rested his muzzle on the railing, watching Steve’s face carefully. His captain wasn’t obviously trying to hide something, he wasn’t shifting and trying to avoid Liberty’s gaze. Instead, he just looked like he was trying to figure out how to start.

Liberty nudged the tip of his muzzle into Steve’s hands, leaning into the touch before sighing. “What’s the plan?”

Steve seemed relieved by the question. He sighed and cocked his hip against the railing. “We’re going to find someone to give us information on Zola’s algorithm and Project Insight.”

Liberty hummed, resisting the urge to flex his claws as he thought. He didn’t want to ruin Sam’s yard, but it was hard to keep still while he was agitated. He didn’t care that they were charging into the thick of the problem; that was far better than sneaking around and hiding. It was how they were going to get their information that bothered him. Zola had said that Hydra was inside of SHIELD, which meant that there was no telling who they would be able to trust. He didn’t think that Steve or Natasha would want to fly close to the Triskelion and start pulling agents at random until they got what they needed.

He sighed, shaking his head slightly. “Do we have a target?”

“Yeah, Sitwell. He was on the _Lemurian Star_.”

Liberty tipped his head at the name, not recognizing it. He glanced over at Natasha, watching her as she stripped a gun. He was more amused than surprised that she had another one, but he had learned not to question it. Natasha seemed to always pick out a weapon to hold, it made her feel better. Liberty had never asked her why, it didn’t seem like the kind of question that she would actually answer.

Natasha finished what she was doing, pausing to look up at him. “He’s a data analyst.”

“So why was he on the _Lemurian Star_? I thought satellite data went back to a base.”

“It does, but the only files I found on that ship were about Zola’s algorithm.”

“So he’s Hydra.” There was a horrible sense of finality to saying it out loud. Before, it had only been Zola saying that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD and it had been easy to ignore it. Zola had always been an enemy, if only an unimportant one. Compared to the threat that the Red Skull had been, Zola had just been an auxiliary. Obviously he had misjudged.

Liberty nodded once, lifting his head from the railing. “Where is he?”

“That’s what we’re going to have to find out.” Natasha looked over the gun before starting to reassemble it. “And then we turn things over to Steve. I’m sure he can think up a plan of action.”

“Fine, get your harnesses. We’ll get into the air.”

Steve pushed away from the railing, giving him a long look over. “Are you ready?”

“I don’t want to wait. I want answers.”

Steve sighed, giving him a stern look. Liberty was sure that it was just a prelude to a lecture about his safety, but Liberty didn’t want to listen to it.

Hydra had lurked under his nose for years and that burned, but not as much as the realization that Hydra had been behind Howard and Maria Stark’s deaths. He couldn’t let that stand, for his own sake and for Tony’s. Hydra had been the one to steal Steve away from him the first time, and he was not going to stand for it. He would fly himself ragged before that happened.

He fixed Steve with his own glare, a low growl rumbling out from his throat as he spoke. “If Sitwell will lead us to Hydra, then we’re going after him. I’ll do it on my own if I have to.”

Natasha scoffed at that, locking the last piece of the gun into place. “I’d almost like to see that.”

“Don’t encourage him.” Steve shook his head, leaning heavily on the railing. He remained like that for a while, long enough that Liberty debated grabbing the back of Steve’s shirt and tossing him into the house. Anything to get them moving faster. Steve must have sensed his shifting because he looked up. “If you’re sure, then we’ll move. You’ll be carrying the three of us.”

Liberty cocked his head at that, throwing a glance over at the other dragon, but he kept his mouth shut. There would be time later to ask why the dragon would let Sam fly with another dragon, especially considering how close they were.

The dragon didn’t look too happy with the order either, but he just coiled more closely around Sam and gave Liberty a sharp look. Liberty turned his attention back to Steve, waiting patiently for the rest of his orders.

Steve was silent for a moment more before shrugging. “You’re still plenty dirty, so I doubt anyone would recognize you.”

“Will we be going in close?”

“Possibly, but I want to save Sam for that. You and Redwing will be on watch close by. I don’t want Hydra sneaking up on us while we’re shaking information.”

“I can do that.” Liberty didn’t look back at Redwing. He had flown with unfamiliar dragons before, it wouldn’t be new. At least he knew that Redwing would be keeping a close eye on Sam in case something went wrong. That meant he could trust the dragon to stay alert. He didn’t think that Hydra meant anything to the smaller dragon, especially if he had been a feral in Afghanistan. Redwing would have been more interested in trying to eke out a living than any history. “As long as he flies straight.”

Redwing hissed at him, Liberty turning his head just in time to see the smaller dragon puff out his chest. He was momentarily distracted by the shine of the sunlight off the pair of dog tags that Redwing wore, but he contented himself with a quick touch of his nose to his captain’s bars. They weren’t much compared to the tags, but at least he had earned the bars with his hard work. That had to count for something.

He gave the bars one more buff before looking back at Steve. He gave himself a light shake, not enough to really disturb the harness. A puff of dust rose from his back, but Liberty ignored it in favor of giving Steve an open mouth grin. “All lies well.”

“Then we’d better mount up.”

* * *

Liberty watched as Agent Sitwell was marched towards him. The agent looked uncomfortable stuck between Sam and Redwing. In fact, he seemed more interested in staying as far away from Redwing as possible.

The little dragon didn’t make it any easier for him, Redwing’s mouth open in what could be a threat or a smile. It was hard to tell with the feral, especially when Redwing was being twitchy. Liberty was more than ready to ignore it because of the sheer number of people. With the way that the feral’s gaze would stray he was pretty sure that Redwing hadn’t spent much time around a bunch of people, but the dragon was holding up well. He certainly had blended in better than Liberty had when they had settled in on either side of the hotel.

He dropped into a crouch, watching as Sam practically tossed Sitwell up to Natasha. The agent gave a startled squeak, Natasha ignoring the sound as she hauled him into position on Liberty’s shoulders. She pushed him into position between the start of the wing joints, the usual position for a single prisoner transport without a tent or a module. With Steve and Natasha in front and Sam in the back, Sitwell wouldn’t be going anywhere.

Steve was the next to climb up, his captain jumping easily from the ground to the strap that ran across his side. Steve hauled himself up from there, Liberty hearing Sam mutter a curse under his breath.

He offered Sam a hand, surprised when Redwing snatched up Sam by the back of his shirt and made the short jump onto Liberty’s back. Liberty winced at the prick of Redwing’s claws, but the feral quickly balanced himself out, walking up Liberty’s back to drop Sam into place.

Liberty turned his head to look at Redwing, watching as the feral settled down on his back. Redwing looked proud of himself, meeting Liberty’s gaze like he expected to be snarled at. Liberty shook his head, he was used to the weight. When it got cold Viatrix and the other courier weights liked to pile on any dragon they could, and he was the favorite because of his warmer body temperature. Redwing wasn’t much heavier than Viatrix, although he did dig his claws in a bit more than she did. Then again, Redwing probably didn’t trust him not to shake.

He purposefully broke his gaze from Redwing’s, looking back down at the four humans. They were arranged around Sitwell, all of them already clipped in while Sitwell had his arm jammed through the harness. The man had gone completely white and was shaking. Liberty would have been happy for that, but they needed information from him.

He lowered his head as close to Sitwell as he could get, letting his voice drop until it was nearly a growl. “Tell us about the algorithm.”

Sitwell whimpered, but shook his head. “Pierce is gonna kill me.”

“That’s funny.” Steve moved easily along his back, clipping back in close to his head. He leaned against Liberty’s head, one hand wrapped around the last spine on Liberty’s eye ridge. Liberty barely looked back at his captain, keeping up his growl and Steve patted his neck. “I don’t think Pierce is going to get to you first. Liberty is right here and he doesn’t like Hydra. In fact, we’ve both had enough of them. Really, it’s a toss-up between which of the three of us will get to you first.”

Sitwell went rigid when Redwing growled, looking between the three of them before nodding frantically. “Okay, okay. Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!”

“So I was told. What I wasn’t told was who the targets were.” Steve patted Liberty’s neck again, Liberty rumbling out a growl. From the way that Sitwell twitched, he could feel it from where he was crouched on Liberty’s back.

He was still shifting nervously when Steve pressed hard against the scales, Liberty cutting off the sound abruptly. To his surprise, Redwing followed his lead.

The silence seemed to unnerve Sitwell more than the growls had. The man looked between the two of them before shaking his head.

For a moment, Liberty thought that Sitwell would clam up again, but Natasha shifted slightly and he jumped. Sitwell scrambled for a hold on the harness as his arm slipped out, managing to get a grip when he was on his stomach. He gave Natasha a frantic look before shaking his head. “You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to Hydra! Now, or in the future.”

Liberty growled at the mention of Bruce, Sitwell looking up at him with wide eyes. He felt Steve’s hand on his neck, a reminder to restrain himself, but Liberty didn’t listen. The people that Sitwell was enough of a pattern that Liberty could guess at a few more, and Tony was on that list, as was Clint. All of the people that Liberty knew and cherished were probably on that list. “How?”

“Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates peoples' past to predict their future.”

“And then?” Sitwell hesitated, Liberty glaring at the man until he shrunk down again. When that didn’t get Sitwell to respond, he raised his voice, feeling Steve press hard against his neck. “And then?!”

“Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few millions at a time.”

Liberty froze, staring at the cringing form of Sitwell before looking around at the others. They all had the same look of horror on their faces. The sheer number of people that would kill was mind boggling, Liberty struggling to comprehend the number. All he could think of was how many of _his_ people would be shot down with them, and all because Hydra found them a threat.

It was easy to shake off the horror then, replacing it with anger and fear. Liberty lifted his head up, glaring down at the agent on his back. He was tempted to breathe fire, just enough to get his point across, but the flames would only scatter across his own back. Liberty let his mouth hang open slightly instead. “When does Project Insight launch?”

“S-sixteen hours.”

Liberty snorted and turned his head away, staring ahead at the people and cars going past where they had tucked themselves away. That didn’t leave them that much time if they were going to infiltrate, but at least it was better than being too late.

He stood up, feeling Redwing dig his talons in with the sudden move. Liberty ignored the pinpricks of pain, although he couldn’t help but puff himself up a bit at the terrified sound that Sitwell made. It was tempting to just leap into the air and listen to the man scream, but he held himself in place. In the air there was a higher chance that he would get caught by the patrols that SHIELD was flying. He’d had to dodge Decus and Lozen on the way in, although it hadn’t looked like the Paloosa had been looking too hard.

He lifted his head to scan the sky, opening his wings slightly as he saw a few dragons circling above them. Liberty waited until they all turned away. None of them looked like they were searching, just that they had been waiting. That didn’t stop him from trying to watch them as they split off. He shifted uneasily, highly aware of the glances that people were giving him. They weren’t suspicious, people were too used to having dragons around to look twice at him, but they still made him nervous.

Liberty lowered his head, turning it so he could see the humans on his back. “We should get moving, we don’t have a lot of time.”

Steve nodded, moving back to his usual spot at the base of Liberty’s neck. “Natasha, keep a hold of Sitwell. We’ll need him to get past the locks on Project Insight.”

“I’ll resist the urge to toss him off.”

Liberty turned his head a bit further to eye Sitwell before shaking his head. If Steve said that Sitwell was needed, he wouldn’t argue. There would be another time to push for more questions.

He gave the sky one more glance before jumping from the ground, slipping into the flow of traffic in the air. Liberty tried to keep himself steady as some of the dragons glanced over at him. Their gaze lingered on where Redwing was crouched on his hindquarters, at least until the smaller dragon took to the air himself. Redwing gave him a flippant flick of a wing before he was off, darting ahead through the traffic.

Liberty watched him go, relaxing a little. Redwing wouldn’t carry people, something that he would ask the smaller dragon about later. Liberty was more than happy to have Redwing scouting ahead. What he wanted to do was fly up above the normal traffic, but that would just attract attention.

He edged away from the dragon off his right wing, giving it and the cargo it was hauling more room. The dragon gave him a thankful nod and put on more speed, carefully edging his way through the others. Almost as soon as he was gone there was another dragon taking its place. This one was more than willing to crowd on Liberty’s wing. The dragon turned his head to hiss at him, Liberty just barely keeping himself from snapping back, focusing his head forward. All he had to do was keep up with the rest of the dragons until they got to the Triskelion. Steve would have a plan by then, and hopefully one that was better than bullying through the dragons in the bay.

An enraged roar from ahead made Liberty jerk his head up, the other dragons around him doing the same. A few started to circle nervously in place, causing other dragons to have to do the same.

Liberty snarled and beat up above the flow of dragons, hissing when he saw the familiar green and red on brown that marked a Dakota. He recognized the dragon herself, Liberty back winging as Amoena roared again.

Smaller dragons scattered at the sound, some of the middleweights puffing themselves up. It wasn’t quite a threat display, but they were all angry. Liberty glanced at them before circling tightly, making his way through the clump of dragons towards the back. Amoena would keep them distracted long enough for him to slip away. There was no telling where the others from SHIELD were, but there were plenty of ways that he could get back to the Triskelion.

He twisted around, turning sideways to slip between two dragons before dropping below another. Liberty kept throwing glances back over his shoulder as he went, expecting to see Amoena barging through the dragons, but she stayed in place. Liberty heard the crackle of a loudspeaker, quickly ducking his head before any announcement went out. He focused on covering ground as fast as he could, banking out over an overpass to get away from the mix up of confused dragons.

A streak of red and cream went past him, Liberty turning his head to watch as Redwing came back. The little dragon panted for breath, Redwing looking all around before his head jerked up. His wings flared out, Liberty catching sight of the bright spot of red before the dragon dropped. He ducked his head to follow the motion, surprised when Redwing twisted around to look up at him. The dragon gave a warning trill, Liberty having the time to turn his head to look at the sky above him before a dragon slammed into him.

Liberty roared in surprise and pain as the dragon’s claws dug into his shoulders. The presence of the other dragon so close fouled his wings, Liberty snarling and turning his head to snap at the other dragon. He wanted to twist and try to come at the dragon with his own claws, but he couldn’t move without the dragon’s claws snagging on the harness and he was not about to risk anyone on his back.

He tipped his head back, ignoring the movement on the dragon’s back as he opened his mouth. The dragon must have had some experience with fire breathers, because it jerked its head back and let go quickly. Liberty spat fire at it anyway, a short plume that just missed the underside of the dragon’s jaw.

The dragon squealed and pulled away, Liberty about to go after it when he heard a scream from his back. He turned his head in time to see a man throw Sitwell from his back. Natasha slid across his back as far as her harness would allow her to go, but she missed grabbing onto the agent as he fell into the car traffic below. Steve was alongside her a moment later, clipping his carabiner into place on the nearest loop with one hand as he raised the shield with the other.

“Boarder! Shake him off!”

He reacted automatically to the order. It had been one of the first things that he had been taught to respond to. At any call of boarder it was up to him to defend his crew. The best way to get boarders off was before they had clipped in.

Liberty beat up quickly, trying to get himself as vertical as possible while he shook his body. As soon as he was above the usual flow of dragons he began to buck and twist, doubling back on himself to try and scrape his own claws and teeth across his back.

He caught glimpses of the boarder as he moved, hissing when he saw that the man was still clinging to the harness. The sunlight flashed off something on the man’s arm, Liberty turning his head away. He twisted into a series of loops before clamping his wings to his sides and dropping.

A few of the dragons who weren’t giving away to Amoena shouted and moved out of his way, Liberty ignoring the shouts and warning honks of the cars below him. He closed his second lid over his eyes, keeping an eye on the slightly blurred view of the world. All he needed to see were the colored blurs that were the cars and the larger black surface that was the overpass.

He snapped his wings open at the last minute, grunting at the weight that they took on as he tried to slow his plummet. His claws scraped against the pavement, Liberty tilting forward so he landed heavily on his forelegs.

The move almost tumbled him over, but he quickly back winged trying to bring his back end down again. He heard a shout, lifting his head up and blinking to settle the second eyelid back into place.

The man he assumed was the boarder was tumbling along the road. He rolled easily up onto his feet, Liberty snorting in disbelief when the man dug his fingers into the asphalt of the road. The asphalt gave easily, five furrows gouged into it. The man slowed to a stop before looking up at them, Liberty hissing as he stood up.

Liberty shifted in place, raising his wings as he started to back away. He could hear the cars honking at him, but he paid them no mind. What he needed was a good jump from the ground and to gain as much altitude as he could. The time for being subtle was over.

He glanced up, growling low when he saw the same dragon that had run into him circling above. The dragon was carefully staying out of range of any fire that Liberty would dare to breathe up at him, but close enough that it would be impossible for Liberty to get up into the air. He hissed up at the dragon, taking awkward, crabbing steps away from the two of them. He wouldn’t be able to outrun the dragon on foot, and the boarder made him wary, especially with the way that the man was up and walking towards him. The man should have gone flying off during the shake off, but he had held on until Liberty had made a last ditch effort and survived.

He flicked his tail threateningly, feeling it smack against the roof of a car. The sound was satisfying, but it didn’t deter the man, he just kept coming.

Liberty turned himself into a ‘c’ shape, still stepping back as a black SUV pulled up behind the man. Men dressed in black and body armor piled out of the truck, Liberty searching for any identification on them, but it was disappointingly blank. Whoever was coming for them weren’t official, which meant that they would all disappear if they were caught.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Steve slapped his shoulder, Liberty dropping down into a crouch at the command. To his surprise, they all slid off his back, Steve the only one to stay buy his shoulder. Liberty watched Sam rush off reaching back to fiddle with the pack on his back. Natasha had already disappeared in the mess of the cars, the two of them probably going to flank the group that was walking out. Liberty shifted and looked down at Steve, his captain holding onto the slightly thicker scales on the front of his foreleg. “Clear the skies and then get the civilians out of here. This is going to be a fight.”

“I’ll stick close.”

“Civilians first.”

Liberty snorted, about to argue when he heard a gun fire. He curled closer around Steve, watching as a car exploded behind them. He flinched as bits of hot metal knocked against his side. Liberty tucked his head under his wing, waiting for the rain of metal to stop before he pulled his head out. By then, Steve had already rushed out, his shield held out in front of him.

He sighed and turned his attention to the sky, watching as the dragon made tight circles above him. Every once and a while the dragon would snap at something above him. Liberty waited until one of those moments before leaping into the air. He didn’t bother to breathe fire or try to dodge around the dragon, he just rammed into the dragon’s stomach.

The surprise made the dragon drop, Liberty digging his claws into the dragon’s side as he rose. He kicked away, opening his mouth with a threatening snarl. The dragon turned away, its head jerking up suddenly at something in front of it. And then it was gone, beating up into the air with blood streaming from the marks that Liberty had clawed into its side.

Liberty glanced back down, nodding as Redwing stared back at him. The smaller dragon flew closer to his side, circling partially in his shadow as he peered down at the fight going on below. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know, but Steve said to go after the civilians.” From the look that Redwing shot him, the dragon hadn’t even thought of protecting the people, not that Liberty blamed him. He glanced down, wincing at the fire fight that was going on. He could see Natasha bobbing in between the cars while Sam advanced on them from the other side. Steve was doing his usual thing of charging right in, his shield held up.

Liberty shook his head, about to send Redwing out with a nudge when there was a ringing thud from below. He looked down in time to see Steve go flying over the edge of the bridge and into a bus. Liberty roared in protest, stooping down on the man that was holding the rocket launcher.

The man only had the time to look up before Liberty plowed into him, his claws finding the edges of the body armor and digging in. He heard the human scream, but he ignored the sound in favor of throwing the human back to the ground. The man hit hard and went limp, Liberty not bothering to check on the damage, he was too busy jumping over the edge of the bridge and down to the road below.

A shadow flashed over his head, Liberty looking up as Redwing glided over him. The little dragon landed and scuttled over to where people were gathering. Liberty couldn’t hear what Redwing was saying, but he didn’t care. His attention was on the bus that had been thrown to its side with the force that Steve had hit it with. He grabbed onto the bus, holding it in place as he craned his head to look inside of it.

Dazed people were lying in piles all over the bus and the smell of blood was thick in the air. Steve was sprawled towards the front, but his shield was nowhere to be seen. Liberty scanned the bus quickly before digging his claws into any hold he could get and walking backward.

The bus rocked gently, finally easing up onto its wheels again. Liberty heard people scream as they were shifted suddenly, focusing on setting everything down as easily as possible. He couldn’t help the final rock that the bus gave, but a quick check showed that people were starting to stand up. Liberty set his claws in the doors and yanked them open, quickly stepping back as the people started to stumble out. A few of them didn’t bother to look at him, too focused on getting to the sidewalk and away from the wreckage of the bus, but most glanced his way in fear before making their dash to the sidewalk.

Liberty snorted at them but let them run, his attention on where Steve was rummaging on the floor of the bus. He popped up a moment later, sliding the shield onto his arm as he ran for the door to the bus.

He swung himself out onto the street, giving Liberty an annoyed glare. “I thought I told you to save civilians.”

“I just did. You were the one who got knocked into the bus.” Liberty grabbed the bus, intending to haul it out of the way. The emergency vehicles would be arriving at any moment and they needed the streets clear. There was nothing he could do about the overpass, but he could at least make a safe staging area.

He started to push the bus away when he felt the sharp sting of bullets against his shoulder. He roared in pain, hopping back even as Steve stepped forward.

Steve raised up the shield, ducking his upper body behind it as he waved Liberty off. “Go.”

Liberty took two more awkward steps before breaking into a run. Behind him he could hear the sounds of bullets pinging off the shield, the tone changing as Steve got closer to the shooters. He heard a shout of pain from behind him, but Liberty didn’t dare turn to look until he had reached the edge of the fight.

Redwing was still shouting orders, although he had landed on the top of a car. Liberty was surprised that the people were listening to him, but they weren’t moving fast enough. There were still men with guns on the bridge and Steve’s shield wouldn’t protect all the civilians.

Liberty eyed the crowd of civilians before looking up at the overpass. He couldn’t see Natasha running along it, but he could see Sam struggling with one of the gunmen. He narrowed his eyes, looking over the situation before jerking his head in the direction of the overpass. “Go help out Sam, I’ve got this.”

Redwing jumped from the car, charging at one of the gunmen that were trying to rappel down from the bridge. The small dragon snatched the man up, flying up higher before dropping the man.

He turned his head away before he saw the man drop to the ground. Sam could be trusted to handle the overpass. Liberty hadn’t see Redwing in action and he doubted that the dragon had gone out of his way to help Sam’s platoon. But, Redwing had grown up feral, which was more than enough fighting and learning on how to avoid guns. Redwing would just have to put the two together.

Liberty nudged a few more cars out of the way so he could get through. The presence of a larger dragon was enough to get people running out of the way. Liberty watched them for a while before raising his voice to a shout. “For your own safety clear the area. Stay under cover and clear the way for emergency vehicles.”

He tipped his head up, searching the sky for any other dragons. There were a few on the edges of the crowd, Liberty spotting a few of the dragons that served as public transport landing towards the back of the crowd and gathering anyone that they could before flying off. Liberty gave them a thankful nod before turning his attention back to the sky. The dragon that had bumped him earlier was gone, Liberty snarling at the thought. He should have made more of an effort to keep the dragon in place, he had questions, like how they had been found. Amoena was also gone, Liberty shifting uncomfortably as he noticed.

The heavyweight could have easily flown off after disrupting the traffic but he couldn’t imagine her hiding so easily, especially with her bright red streaks.

He mantled his wings, just keeping himself from snarling. The people were frightened enough without them having to deal with a dragon that they thought were angry. Liberty settled for grumbling to himself as he patrolled the edges of the crowd, his attention torn between the people that were rushing away and the sky.

More dragons were starting to circle in, Liberty not sure if they were trying to help the civilians get away or if they were just curious. He kept a sharp eye on them, trying to pick out if any of the dragons from SHIELD were among them or the dragon who had tried to knock him out of the air.

He thought he caught a flash of purple in the tangle of dragons, scanning through again to see if the color was on a courier weight or if it was just decoration. Liberty saw the edge of the wing and a small head peering down at him. He rocked back on his haunches, ready to spring when one of the cars nearby exploded.

Liberty stumbled to the side, forgetting about tracking the familiar face in favor of staring in the direction of the car. He could see the boarder stumbling back from it and Natasha sprinting away from the explosion. She headed his direction, Liberty staking a step towards her when he felt a stinging pain across the back of one leg.

He lifted his leg, rocking back as he glanced down at the graze that he saw along the back, dark blood beading along the deeper sections. Liberty lowered his head with a growl, reaching out for Natasha when she stumbled. He caught her in his talons, pulling her under the protection of his body as he looked around.

The boarder was aiming the rifle again, Liberty not bothering to wait until the action was completed. He breathed a stream of fire between them, scooping Natasha up as the flames danced brightly.

The fire wouldn’t last long, there was nothing for it to catch on and burn. But it was a break, one that Liberty intended to use as long as he could. It would buy him the time to get Natasha to somewhere safe.

He could smell the blood on her but he couldn’t pinpoint it, not when his attention was on tucking her behind a car. Liberty lowered her carefully, taking the time to tug another car into place in front of her. “Stay there. I’ll get help when I can.”

She gave him a shaky smile, the expression enough to get him to move away. Liberty pressed his muzzle against her arm before spinning around and jogging out into the open space that had been cleared in the road.

It didn’t take him long to spot where the boarder and Steve were fighting, he could hear every blow that the man landed on the shield. Liberty snarled and dropped into a crouch. It was an unfamiliar position, something that he had seen from other hunters. He doubted that he would be able to sneak up on the boarder, but he could at least get ready to spring. Crushing the man wasn’t their best plan, but Liberty wasn’t feeling too lenient. The man had shot Natasha and lost them their one safe chance to get to Project Insight before it was set into motion.

He took two steps before bounding forward, reaching out with one hand to slash at the man’s legs. He managed to catch the edge of the boot, pulling the man off balance.

The man went down, Liberty crow hopping to one side before starting to circle the man. It was easy to almost curl himself into that position, his hind end staying close to where Steve was, which left his tail free if he cared to use it. Smacking the man with his wings or neck would be just as devastating.

Liberty let his mouth drop open slightly, breathing slowly and deeply to encourage the fire. Nothing aside from the cars would actually stay on fire, but Liberty didn’t want to be lobbing flaming cars at the man, not with Steve and the others still so close. Unless he got a clear shot, he intended to use it as a threat, although he would be breathing fire on the man as soon as he had his opening.

The man shifted slightly, looking between the two of them before drawing a knife. Liberty huffed, unimpressed until the man darted to the side, ducking in low to try and ham string him.

Liberty snarled, spitting out sparks and bits of fire as he flapped his wings to get airborne in a series of short hops. He came heavily back down when the man turned to stab at Steve, lashing out with his tail. The man stumbled, Liberty snapping at him before retreating so shield could knock the man’s arm. Liberty followed the glitter of the knife as the man snatched it up with his other hand. Steve and the man were too close for Liberty to squeeze in between them and try to get the knife away, so he kept circling close, waiting for the man to bump into him.

The man seemed very aware of the proximity of the dragon, Liberty catching a few of the glances that the man threw back at him. The man turned on one of Steve’s punches, Liberty shuffling sideways as the man swung the knife at him. It was an automatic move, even though the knife wouldn’t have injured him too badly, not unless the man had put effort into it. As it was, he looked more interested in getting Liberty as far away from them as possible.

He snarled and closed in again, following the sounds of every impact on the shield and trying to figure out the pattern. The man didn’t seem to be paying attention, but Steve was. His captain kept glancing up at him, shifting the man to try and help Liberty get an opening. The man was less that cooperative.

Liberty snarled and lunged forward as the man’s metal arm swung up. He clamped his teeth down on it, feeling some of the plates give. He felt the sharp bite of a shock as his teeth broke through wires, Liberty releasing his hold and yanking his head back. Liberty raised his head high as the man lunged for him, nearly laughing at the ineffective jump that the man made for him.

The man didn’t seem to hear the laugh. He landed in a roll, obviously favoring his injured arm. Liberty watched as it sparked and jerked, waiting for the man to react but he didn’t. He just eyed the distance between them before dashing forward, knife raised threateningly.

Liberty turned slightly, trying to put distance between him and the man. As long as he was on his feet, the man couldn’t use the harness to climb on. The problem was, the man could also use his knife to climb up Liberty’s back. He had seen in done to dragons during the war by desperate men.

The man feinted, Liberty hissing and taking a step further back. The man followed him, Liberty glaring down at him as Steve rushed forward to grab the man’s shoulder.

The man dodged to the side, Steve’s hand closing around the mask that the man wore around the lower part of his face. Steve didn’t seem to mind the change in grip, he just threw the man back over his shoulder.

Liberty watched the man tumble, taking a cautious step forward when he landed flat on his stomach. He growled when the man almost immediately pushed back up, the man swaying back to his feet. Liberty stepped protectively over Steve, about to lunge forward when the man turned to look at them.

He heard Steve suck in a quick breath, tipping his head down to glance at Steve before looking down at the man again. From the lower angle he could see the man’s face better, especially now that his hair was out of it.

Steve made a pained sound, Liberty automatically curing around him for protection and comfort, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the man that was staring back at them. He flicked his tongue out, trying to get a scent from the man, but all he could smell was sweat and metal. He whined and took a step forward. He needed to get something other than what his eyes could see, anything to prove that what he was seeing was real.

“Bucky?” Steve took a slow step forward.

The man didn’t move when Steve spoke, continuing to stare at the two of them. Liberty stretched his neck out, torn between going over to check that what he was seeing that was real and stay where he was in case it was a trick being played on him. “Is that…”

Steve reached out to rest his hand on Liberty’s neck, Liberty feeling Steve’s hand shake. “Bucky?”

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

Liberty keened, taking a few steps forward. What he wanted to do more than anything was to gather Bucky up in his claws and hold him close. Because it was Bucky, he was so sure of it. He remembered Bucky clearly, the last look that he had seen on the man’s face and the way that he had looked when he had been sprawled out in the snow. The way he had looked like just before he had buried him.

Liberty took another step forward, watching as Bucky reached an arm out. For a moment, he thought that Bucky was going to come close to them and they could figure things out. It would be like old times. He would be able to snatch Bucky up by the back of his jacket and swing him onto his back. They would have another ally against Hydra, because Bucky would never do anything else.

He sighed when Bucky spread his fingers out, cupping his hand slightly. It was a familiar invitation, one that Liberty was more than happy to accept.

He inched forward, about to press his nose against Bucky’s hand when he saw the flash of a knife. He jerked his head up before the knife was plunged into the end of his snout. Liberty snorted and backed away, staring as Bucky retreated, adjusting his hold on the knife.

Liberty skittered back, watching as Bucky went to make another swing, only to be thrown onto his face as Sam flew in low. He jerked his head up, watching as Redwing came in low.

The feral dragon circled above, hissing at where Bucky was sprawled on the ground. Redwing peered down at them before quickly landing next to Sam. Liberty could see the two of them rushing over.

He turned his head to look back at Bucky, letting out a surprised squawk as Bucky turned a gun on them. He reached without thinking, stepping in front of Steve and growling. To his surprise, Bucky wasn’t intimidated by the sound. Instead, Bucky just adjusted his aim so that the bullet would go through Liberty’s skull. He snarled at the adjustment, opening his mouth to breathe fire only to stop. He might have been threatened, but it was Bucky, and he _couldn’t_.

Liberty snapped his mouth shut, ducking his head. He expected to hear the gun being fired, and the sound of the bullet pinging off the shield. Instead, he smelled fire, Liberty jerking his head up as a car exploding. He rose up onto his hind legs, looking for any sign of Bucky or the other gunmen, but they were gone, leaving nothing but sirens in their wake.

He growled and crouched low to the ground, looking over his shoulder at where Sam and Natasha were coming his way. He could smell blood in the air and see it on Natasha’s shoulder. Liberty reached out a foreleg to her, ready to lift her gently to his back.

They needed to go after Bucky, but they also needed to get to the Triskelion. Liberty shook his head, trying to get his thoughts in order. First, Natasha needed help. He wasn’t about to leave one member of his crew to die, not for the sake of another one. There was a hospital close enough that he could leave her there and still follow Bucky before the trail got too cold.

He flexed his claws slightly, hoping that it would encourage Natasha and Sam to move quickly. Instead, the two to them looked up, Redwing squawking and jumping on Sam. Liberty looked up, roaring as he saw the brown, red and green mass of dragon descending on him. He shifted to shove Steve out of the way of the dragon, watching as he stumbled out of the way. For a moment, Steve seemed like he was going to race to the last place that they had seen Bucky, but then he seemed to register what was falling from the sky.

Liberty saw Steve turn around before he felt a heavy weight on his back, pinning him to the ground. He roared and scrambled at the road, twisting his neck around to snap at the dragon that was crouched on him. He pulled his head back when Amoena snapped back at him, the Dakota adjusting her weight on him. She stared down at him, holding her head annoyingly just out of range.

There was another roar from close by, Liberty turning his head just in time to see Decus drop out of the sky and pin Redwing to the ground. He saw Sam’s wings flare out just before the STRIKE team unclipped from Decus’ back, Liberty watching as all of them took aim at Sam and Natasha.

He stretched his neck out, trying to reach for Travis Carpenter. “Stop! Natasha’s hurt. Please.”

Liberty jerked his head back as Carpenter trained the gun on him. He ducked his head, looking over at where Rumlow and Kaufman were standing guard over by Steve. Kaufman had a gun pressed against Steve’s head, although Rumlow was shoving his arm down. Liberty was relieved that one of them was showing some kind of sense, although the relief didn’t last long. If the STRIKE team was acting like this, then they couldn’t be trusted either, especially since they had appeared so quickly on the heels of Amoena showing up and diverting the traffic.

He lifted his lip, baring his teeth at the STRIKE team as they closed in. “You get away from him.”

The last word was forced out of him with the rest of his breath as Amoena pressed harder against him. He wheezed, tipping his head so he could keep an eye on the Dakota and Steve. Amoena seemed content to keep him pinned to the ground, something that Liberty was almost grateful for. Steve commanded his full attention now because his captain wasn’t fighting back. Steve was just staring off at where Bucky had once stood with the same shocked look on his face.

Liberty whined and tried to claw himself forward. He needed to get to Steve and check that his captain was alright. He needed to know if Steve had seen the same thing that he had seen. There was every chance that they had seen Bucky, and Liberty wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

The last he had seen of Bucky, he was pushing snow over the man’s body to keep him until they could go back. But they hadn’t. They had gone back to England to pass over Zola and, as much as Liberty had always intended to go back, he hadn’t. He didn’t think that he even remembered the spot anymore.

The thought made his breath catch in his throat, Liberty staring in horror at Steve. He had promised that he would remember where he had buried Bucky, a living breathing Bucky apparently, and he had forgotten. He had left Bucky to freeze or become whatever they had seen on the road. It couldn’t have been a ghost.

He made a half strangled noise, Liberty trying to get Steve to turn his head and look at him, anything to reassure him that he wasn’t just seeing things. The noise rose to a keen, Liberty surprised when Amoena reached out with one hand to clamp his mouth shut. He stared up at the Dakota, meeting her gaze for a moment before the dragon looked away from him.

Amoena lowered her head, meeting Rumlow’s gaze. “We should get them out of here quickly. He won’t be quiet. Rawley can’t keep the police away for too long.”

“Fine.” Rumlow stepped away from Steve, letting Rollins and Carpenter grab onto Steve’s shoulders and start to haul him away. “Take these three to the truck. The rest of you, get the muzzle in the SUV, find some rope for the little one and tie his mouth shut. Decus and Langley can keep track of that little one. Amoena, make sure Liberty doesn’t fly off.”

Liberty felt Amoena’ growl rumble through him, the Dakota obviously not happy about leaving her captain grounded. She didn’t argue any more than that. She remained crouched on Liberty until the STRIKE team manage to haul out the metal and leather contraption of a dragon muzzle.

Liberty tried to shake his head, roaring as Amoena lifted his head from the ground. He braced himself, locking his neck. It wasn’t much but it made the job of putting on the muzzle more difficult. Amoena had to practically shove his face into it, Liberty starting to thrash when he felt the metal close around his muzzle.

He had been muzzled exactly once in his life, when his first captain and crew had died. He had hated it just as much then, Liberty writhing and bucking in a vain attempt to move the heavyweight from his back. Amoena didn’t move but she did growl and shift her hold, having to work to get him to do anything. That was something at least.

He felt the muzzle tighten around his head, Amoena the one to yank the simple latch into place. The Dakota put too much force into the motion, the end of the muzzle pressing against his nose as the leather strap was snugged into place. Then she dropped his head, stepping down on the muzzle for good measure. Liberty snarled, the sound just about the only thing that he could get out. If he wanted to burn the scales and a good measure of muscle and bone from his face he could breathe fire against the muzzle, but that wouldn’t help him save Steve, Sam or Natasha.

Liberty swung his head around, watching as the three humans were loaded into an armored car. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the thing. The STRIKE team had planned ahead. Steve could probably bust out of the car, but it would take effort and time, something that would give STRIKE the time to bring in help.

Of course, that would depend on Steve wanting to move. From the way that his captain was just staring at the ground, Liberty didn’t think that Steve would be moving to defend himself any time soon.

A sharp prick to his side made Liberty growl, but he moved when Amoena prodded him again. The heavyweight stepped from his back, giving him a long look before taking to the air, the implication obvious. He would be allowed to fly because they had Steve and Natasha, which was a guarantee that he would follow. He craned his neck up, watching as Amoena gained height. He sighed, giving the car that the humans had been loaded in before launching himself up into the air. For him, there was no other choice but to follow Steve and Natasha; the thought of flying away on his own was too much for him to contemplate.

He dragged himself up into the air, beating his wings as slowly as he could get away with. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Redwing doing the same, although the smaller dragon stuck closer to the car. Liberty was tempted to do the same, but he didn’t think that he would be able to get away with it, not with Amoena breathing down his neck.

He shot a glare up at the Dakota, surprised that she looked almost remorseful for a moment. She ducked her head, lowering her voice like the two of them were having a private conversation in the Helicarrier. “I’m sorry to do this, but you forced our hand.”

Liberty didn’t bother looking her way, because he didn’t have an answer. They had almost been friends over the past year, but that didn’t stop him from wishing that he could trust her.

* * *

Sam craned his neck back, ignoring the pain from the awkward position. The guards in the car wouldn’t allow him to turn around, so he had to practically bend himself backwards to see out the small row of windows. It was the only chance he was going to get to see Redwing.

The dragon was following close to the car, Sam almost expecting Redwing to land on top of it and cling there. Then again, he couldn’t imagine the lightweight dragon allowing it. The Narragansett was herding Redwing along, snapping at him every time that Redwing started to drip too close to the car or pawed at the rope that had been tied around his nose.

Sam gritted his teeth and pulled out of his partially bowed position, staring at the wall across from him. He had promised Riley that he would keep the dragon safe. His friend hadn’t been around for the promise, but it had felt like the right thing to tell the headstone. Riley had doted on the dragon, even going as far to sleep on the floor with Redwing when they had been back on base. Sam doubted that Riley would have approved in dragging Redwing into a war between superheroes and Hydra, if Riley could believe that Hydra was still around. It seemed like more of a thing that Chrissie would have read in her comic books.

And yet, here he was, across from Captain America and beside a super spy while Redwing was flew beside him. Something inside him said it was a death march and he couldn’t get that part of him to shut up.

Steve and Natasha had told him that SHIELD wasn’t quite above the board anymore and he had heard about Hydra’s plans himself. Hell, he’d seen what kind of soldier that they could send out into the field. He was sure that he would be seeing the flash of the man’s metal arm as it clung to Liberty’s harness in his dreams, but that wasn’t his focus at the moment. Escape should be, but that would depend on whether the dragons would be freed or not.

That depended in the soldiers were going to shoot Redwing and Liberty before they killed the rest of them.

Sam hissed out a breath between his teeth, viciously shaking his head. It was only practical, but he was _not_ going to think about the worst case scenario at the moment, because then he might as well have lost. He had enough memories tied up to broken and bleeding bodies that he didn’t need another one to work through. He didn’t have time for that sort of thing at the moment, considering he seemed to be the only one of their team functioning. Natasha was slumping against him as she bled from her shoulder wound and Steve had checked completely out.

He gave Steve a long look, hoping for some kind of hint about what was going on, but there was nothing. Steve was in shock and Sam would bet that Liberty wouldn’t do anything to put Steve in danger when Steve couldn’t cope with it.

Sam sighed and rolled his shoulders back, trying to find a comfortable position that he could sit in. He cursed under his breath as Natasha tipped further onto him. He hunched forward, supporting her head with his shoulder.

For a moment he considered gently pushing her off so she was braced against the steadier side of the car. At least that meant that she wouldn’t end up face down on the floor. Sam was willing to be that their guards wouldn’t give a damn if Natasha ended up down there. Then again, there was no guarantee that Natasha would actually stay where she was put. At least he would be able to keep her from flopping all over the place.

Sam tipped his head to look at her shoulder. It was hard to tell through the jacket because the area around the bullet hole was already soaked. The only gauge he had was the way that she was slumping against him, limp and out of it. Considering that he had seen her alert at all times since she had walked into his house, Sam was sure that she was doing badly. With his hands cuffed in front of him he could try and examine the wound, but he was sure that he would be sporting a bullet wound of his own if he made a move that the guards didn’t like.

He let his head fall back, trying to settle his head into a position that his neck wouldn’t hate him for. If he couldn’t get himself out, then he could at least try to figure out where they were going. He’d be able to react better when the car came to a stop, even if it was only to hurry the three of them away. As long as the three of them were safe, the dragons could let loose without having to worry about their people.

The view from the window didn’t afford him the sight of street signs, only buildings and the open sky. He groaned and let his gaze drift back to where Redwing was flying with his head down. Sam stared at the lightweight dragon on guard, frowning when he realized that the dragon looked different. He didn’t remember the lightweight having that much black in their scales and the white spots were in the wrong place.

Sam quickly smoothed his gaze into something more neutral when the dragon’s captain looked his way and very purposefully resting a finger against her mouth. Sam hesitated before nodding and looking away. He turned his gaze towards the window behind Steve, staring out at the buildings on the other side. Sometime in the last few minutes, Liberty had moved away from his slow flight on the other side.

He turned to look at their guards, quickly reaching out to grab a hold of Natasha the car stopped. Sam saw her grimace before she rocked back into her seat, but it was obvious that the move took effort. He kept one hand on her arm, fully expecting her to shove him away. That she let it stay was more telling than anything else.

Sam looked over at their guards, frowning at the two masked people. “Hey, we need to stop this bleeding or she’ll die before we get anywhere.”

The guard closest to them pulled out what looked like a souped-up cattle prod, Sam staring at it even as he pulled Natasha closer to him. That might have been enough to take down Steve, but Sam was sure that it would fry him and Natasha on a good day.

He felt Natasha jerk, sure that she was trying to get her hands free when the guard twisted and jammed the cattle prod into the second guard’s side.

The man shuddered, any sound he made muffled by the mask that he wore. Sam watched in shock as the guard slid to the floor, jerking his gaze up to the first guard, his eyes widening as the woman pulled the mask from her head.

The woman made a face before dropping the mask, reaching up with one hand to rub her temple. “Oh God, that was squeezing my brain out.” She looked up at them, Sam noticing the way that her gaze lingered on Steve before she shook her head. “We ready to move.”

Sam swallowed and leaned forward, aware of the way that Natasha had gone limp against his side again. He wasn’t sure that if it was because she recognized the woman and trusted her or because she couldn’t stay conscious anymore. Sam was willing to go with the former, if only because the woman had effectively removed any chance of defending herself if Steve ever decided to free himself. “Yeah, sure.”

The woman nodded at him before leaning forward. She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, waving it at the dragon that was guarding Redwing. Sam turned in time to see the dragon nod and then it banked abruptly, disappearing from his line of sight. He heard roaring, Redwing’s head jerking up as he looked between whatever was going on above the car and Sam.

He didn’t get the chance to reassure Redwing because the woman was pulling at his cuffs. She jammed a key into them and twisted, not helping him out of them. She just pressed the key into his hands and motioned to Steve and Natasha. “Get them both out and then get the gear.”

She pulled out a black tube, flicking a switch on the side and sending a laser flaring to life. Then she was on the floor of the car, carving out a circle in it as the car jerked to a stop.

Sam didn’t bother to keep watching her work, rushing to unlock Steve and Natasha’s handcuffs. He paused to lay Natasha out on the bench they had sat on. He grabbed the discarded handkerchief and pressed it against her shoulder, guiding one her hands up to press the cloth against the wound. “New job, hold it there.”

He got a curt nod from her before he turned to Steve. The man was still sitting on the bench, although he at least seemed to be aware that there were dragons fighting above him. His head would sometimes jerk up and he would look around like he expected to see Liberty diving in. It wasn’t much better than before, but at least Steve was aware.

Sam grabbed their gear, shoving the shield into Steve’s hands even as he slung the EXO-7 over his shoulders. “Come on.”

Steve followed the order without a question, sliding into the hole that the woman had carved into the street. Sam peered into the hole, watching as Steve landed in a crouch. Steve stayed there for a moment before seeming to snap out of whatever had gotten a hold on him. He tipped his head back to look up at him, Sam sure that Steve was about to crawl right back out. Sam shook his head, throwing one last look at the dragons that were flashing by the sides of the car before dropping down the hole himself.

It was almost second nature to reach for the control that would snap the wings out, but Sam held himself back. He wasn’t properly secured in the harness and the hole was too small for him to really deploy both wings, not unless he wanted the edges bent or snapped off and he would need them for later.

He rolled awkwardly as he hit the ground, Sam scrambling to his feet and rubbing his shoulder. A quick glance showed that the woman had taken possession of Natasha while Steve had dropped back to guard their backs. Sam reached back to grab Steve’s shoulder, feeling the muscles jerk under his hand. He ignored the motion, hoping that Steve wouldn’t snap back into whatever century his mind had been in and hit him with the shield, not that Sam would blame him.

He had seen plenty of other vets freak out before. It didn’t happen much in the VA, but some days weren’t good ones. Sometimes it was hard for them to keep a hold on where they were. At least they had the advantage that the war they had found was recent. For all he knew, Steve would start freaking out about the seventy year gap.

To his relief, Steve just met his gaze, Sam taking that as a sign to squeeze Steve’s shoulder. “You with us? Because I don’t think I can carry you.”

“I’m here.”

Sam squeezed Steve’s shoulder again before walking forward to where the woman and Natasha were hobbling along. He ducked close to check on Natasha, shaking his head when he saw how she was wobbling. Carefully, he slid his arm around her waist, support her other side. “How are you holding up?”

Natasha muttered something at him, which may or may not have been English. Sam glanced back over his shoulder before shaking his head. He could ask questions when they were finished moving away. The further away from whatever team SHIELD had sent after them, the better. There was only two questions that couldn’t be delayed. “Who are you, and where are we going?”

The woman glanced over at him, Sam noting that she had the hand not occupied by holding Natasha up resting on her gun. “Maria Hill. I might have been acting director if SHIELD wasn’t compromised, but agent will work. And we’re heading to a safe house.”

Sam glanced at the wound on Natasha’s shoulder. It was on the tip of his tongue to say that they didn’t have the time, but he was not going to exchange Natasha for Project Insight. He sighed and shook his head. “We’ll have to make this speedy. We have a little under sixteen hours.”

“Plenty of time.”

Sam didn’t know if he should be unnerved or comforted by the smile that Maria gave him. He decided to opt for neither and just stare ahead.

He jumped as he heard something clatter back against the wall, Sam turning his head slightly to look as Steve came up close behind him. Maria did the same, giving Steve a respectful nod. “Captain.”

“Agent Hill.” Steve glanced up at the ceiling of the tunnel they were going through. “What about Liberty and Redwing?”

“Lozen and Captain Flores will take care of them. Liberty should already have the location and, if that little feral is smart, he’ll follow.”

“Redwing is smart.”

Maria hitched Natasha’s arm up over her shoulders again, nodding forward. “Then we’ll meet them there.”

* * *

He stared at the bank of lock boxes across from him, but his mind was back on the street. Dimly, he could hear people moving around him, but they always were. He knew where he was, back for his debrief, but he couldn’t focus on the words that he knew he would have to say.

He had failed.

He had known the man and dragon on the bridge.

The targets had more back up than he anticipated.

Both of them had known his name.

He hadn’t been warned about the man who could fly and a dragon who could breathe fire.

They had called him Bucky.

He curled the fingers of his left hand into a fist, feeling them jerk and twitch oddly. The dragon had managed to get a good grip, so why didn’t it rip the arm off? He had seen in plenty of other times in combat, although he couldn’t remember how he knew it. It was something that he knew deep in his bones, just like he knew the pattern on the dragon. There were many dragons – many Firecrackers – but he _knew_ the pattern of red and white above all others. It matched the man’s shield and the outfit that the man hadn’t been wearing.

They were tied together, and they were important for some reason, but that reason kept eluding him.

He flexed the fingers on his busted arm again, his gaze dropping as he saw the sparks that came from the mangled arm. His left arm was quickly guided into place, but he let it go. He would need to be able to move it for the next mission. Besides, he didn’t want to see the sparks. They were too much like the dragon too.

He jerked his head back at a hard slap. He looked up at his handler, trying to muster what the man needed to hear, but it was hard. Strange things from what might have been his dreams were filtering in and it was hard to tell them apart from his mission. He swallowed and offered the first thing that came to mind. “The man on the bridge…who was he?”

“Someone you met on an earlier assignment.”

He nodded slowly. “I knew him.”

He heard his handler huff, dragging his gaze up to meet the man’s eyes as he talked. “Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped this century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves.”

He wanted to agree, but all he could think about was a room of scientists and a horrible freezing cold. He shivered, suddenly wanting to take his arm back. He didn’t want either of that anymore, he wanted to go back to the mission. The mission was easier. The mission had a dragon who could breathe fire, so he could at least be warm.

There was something about the dragon, something about being dug out of the snow and cold. Or something about being buried in it.

He shivered and let his gaze slide away again. “But I knew him.”

He heard his handler sigh, too familiar with the sound. It was the sound of a failed mission, which meant punishment. He didn’t know if it was really punishment, but it always felt like it. He tipped his head back as he was strapped in, staring up at the ceiling of the room as he waited for the shocks that would run through his body and for the man on the bridge and the dragon to be pulled away again.


	3. Take All the Courage You Have Left

There was no hint that the old dam was a hiding spot, not until Maria tugged the door open. Steve cocked his head to the side, listening as he heard someone running towards them, the click of claws following him. Steve hesitated at the door, letting Maria and Natasha squeeze past him first. He could hear Maria rattling off orders as she passed Natasha off to a man in a lab coat.

Steve tensed, glancing between Maria and the man. There was no telling if this was an elaborate Hydra plot, although why Hydra would arrest them and then drive them off only to rescue them. Steve sighed and rubbed his forehead.

He felt unbalanced, still reeling from the sight of Bucky on the road. Out of everyone he had expected, Bucky hadn’t been one of them. Bucky was dead, and he had been mourned.

Steve swayed as Sam rested a hand on his shoulder, turning his head to look at the man. Sam slapped his shoulder before walking in through the door. Sam hadn’t even moved out of his line of sight before Steve saw Redwing, the small dragon practically tackling Sam to the ground. The sight of Redwing practically wrapping himself around Sam made Steve smile and look for his own dragon.

Liberty hadn’t been outside when they had walked up, although that would have been too obvious for a secret hide out even with Liberty still covered in mud, dirt and ash. Considering the size of the dam, Liberty would have been able to fit in, although how was beyond him.

Steve stepped through the door, squeezing past where Redwing was rubbing his head against Sam’s chest. Sam was laughing and cradling the dragon’s head, Steve quickly averting his gaze. He hadn’t seen Liberty since he had recognized Bucky. He had been aware that things were happening, but it was all a haze.

He rubbed the edge of his shield nervously, heading towards the sound of voices. The lighting was dim, Steve’s attention jumping from shadow to shadow as he moved between the large support pillars. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he should be on his guard. He had spent so much of his time on high alert that it was hard to relax. Maria’s presence was almost helpful, because she had been with Fury when he had died, she had been at the hospital instead of setting up how to arrest him. Besides, Fury had trusted her and Fury rarely trusted anyone.

Steve lowered his shield, not quite ready to sling it over his back until he was sure of his surroundings. For a secret base, there was a lot of empty space.

He stepped into the spot of brighter light where there was a larger space between the columns, coming to an abrupt stop when he saw the hospital bed set up in the space. His gaze skittered over the machines more out of habit than any real thought, his mind catching on the man that was sitting in the bed.

Fury matched his gaze, although Steve was sure the man looked far too calm considering he had been dead a day or two ago. He gave Steve a measured nod before dropping his head back against the pillow. “About damn time.”

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut quickly. He almost didn’t want to know. It was just another one of Fury’s secrets. He clenched his hand into a fist, taking a few deep breaths before uncurling his fingers. He slung his shield over his back as he looked away from the bed.

To one side of the cleared space was a table with papers and laptops scattered on it. Steve thought he saw the shape of a radio, although all the lights were off. Slightly behind him, across from the space between the table and Fury were two chairs. The man in the lab coat sat in one of them, pressing gauze against the bullet wound in Natasha’s shoulder.

Natasha almost didn’t seem to notice the man, she was staring at Fury with a look of shock on her face. Steve sighed and walked over to crouch by her. He wasn’t surprised when she groped for his hand. Steve gave it to her without hesitation, feeling Natasha’s fingers slide between his. “You doing alright?”

“She should be.” The doctor answered for her, the man twisting around to rummage for something in the bag beside him. “The bleeding is slowing down and I should be able to stitch it shut. I don’t expect them to stay in place though, considering everything that’s going on.”

The man shot a look back at Fury before he shrugged. “I’ll wrap a bandage and hope for the best.”

Steve nodded, carefully meeting Natasha’s gaze. It took her a while to look back at him but she did eventually. Her gaze was getting a little more focused, which was exactly what he wanted to see. He squeezed her hand, finally settling down cross legged on the floor. He was sure that a chair would be more comfortable, but he wasn’t quite ready to make the trek. He didn’t want to see the piles of secrets that Fury had gathered during his death. He wasn’t ready to stumble back into the spy game, at least for the next few minutes.

He was aware of the time ticking down to the launch of Project Insight, but he just needed the time to breathe.

Steve let his head tip forward, his chin resting on his chest. He could hear someone moving around him, Steve watching as Maria came over to sit at the table. She lifted a small case onto a clear spot before focusing on one of the laptops. Whatever was there took up her attention for a moment, Maria leaning close before nodding and turning to look at Fury. “No sign of anyone following. Lozen and Captain Flores have limped back to the Triskelion.”

Fury sighed, sounding annoyed. “We’ll have to move then, and soon.”

Steve jerked his head up at that, looking between Fury and Maria. “We don’t have the time for that.”

“We can wait until after Natasha is taken care of. Hill needs the time to find another safe house.”

Steve shook his head. It didn’t matter if Maria had a list of safe houses to check through, they wouldn’t have the time to do the checks to see if they weren’t compromised, move the entire operation _and_ figure out how disable the Insight Helicarriers. Besides, moving while Hydra was looking out for them would be stupid. They had escaped once already, Hydra wouldn’t let them get away again.

He stood up, his fingers sliding free of Natasha’s. She didn’t seem to notice, her gaze focused on where Fury was sitting up on the bed. It took the doctor actively nudging her hand to get her to press the gauze against her wound while he dug around in his bag. Steve turned to offer his help, but Natasha just leaned back from him, her gaze fixed on Fury. “We saw you die.”

Fury looked smug, reaching back to fluff one of the pillows that he was leaning against. “That was the point. You can’t kill what’s already dead.”

Natasha made a quick, bitten off sound, but that could have been from the doctor peeling the gauze away to look at the wound. Steve watched the doctor poke her shoulder for a moment before turning his head away. “So, more secrets.”

“What did you expect, Rogers? I told you I didn’t know who to trust. You should have figured out why by now.”

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, opening his mouth to speak when he heard the clack of claws on concrete. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, frowning when he saw that Sam and Redwing were still close to the entrance. Steve frowned and looked back behind the hospital bed and the table.

Liberty stepped into the circle of dim light, his head held up as he peered down at them. Steve saw the dragon’s tongue flick out. Liberty’s gaze lingered on where the doctor was stitching up Natasha’s shoulder before he focused on Fury again. “I would have liked to know before they shot a missile at us.”

Fury narrowed his eyes. “Pierce is the only one with that kind of pull.”

“The head of SHIELD.” Steve closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had never really thought about who had sent the missile to Camp Lehigh, there had been other things that kept him busy.  He sighed when he heard Liberty moving, bracing himself just enough that he wouldn’t fall over when the dragon nudged him. Steve reached back to rest his hand on Liberty’s face. “How many others did you suspect?”

“A few, but not Pierce. This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, ‘Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.’”

“What else didn’t you tell us?”

“A dozen suspicions, most of which don’t matter anymore with the way you’re talking.” Fury swung his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the aborted motion that the doctor made towards him. He leaned back against the bed for a moment, breathing heavily.

Liberty made an inquisitive sound and moved to step over Steve, stopping when Fury held out a hand. The dragon swayed in place as Fury shuffled over to the table, the man straightening slowly the longer he walked. Fury reached out to grab hold of one of the chairs, leaning heavily against it before looking back at them. “I take it that you’re ready to report.”

Steve clenched his hands into fists, hearing Liberty growl from above him. “Did you know it was Hydra?”

“No. I _suspected_.” Fury eased himself down into his chair. “Hell, I suspected AIM or Stark once I found I was locked out. Hydra was a little further down my list. People said it was dead but things like that have a nasty habit of coming back to life.”

Liberty growled, taking a step forward. “So you knew about Insight.”

Fury nodded. “It was an order from the WSC, nothing personal.”

“Nothing personal?!” Liberty puffed himself up, Steve tempted to let Liberty continue. The dragon had every right to get mad considering Project Insight endangered every human that he knew. Steve had no idea if dragons were even including on Zola’s algorithm, but he was almost afraid to ask. Fury had probably known or at least suspected. If that was the case, then it was something that Liberty probably didn’t need to hear.

He reached out to pat the side of Liberty’s face, eyeing the table that was laid out. Maria was starting to clear things, stacking the paper into piles and pushing the laptops to one side. The only thing that was kept in place was a case, Fury reaching out to pull it closer to him. Steve heard the locks on the case click as Fury flicked them open, the man spinning the case around in the next minute.

Steve frowned and stepped closer to the table, aware that Liberty was sticking close to him. He saw Liberty’s head drop close on his left side, the dragon tipping his head to stare at the three chips that were in the case. Liberty even moved his head forward only to jerk his nose back.

Steve heard the clatter of claws on the floor, leaning against the chair as Redwing scurried up to the table. The smaller dragon gave Fury and Maria wary looks before he peered at the chips. Redwing flicked his tongue out a few times before rearing up to rest his hands on the table. “What are those?”

“The way to stop Project Insight.” Maria spun her laptop around, tapping on the space bar a couple of times. It took the machine a moment to bring up the blueprints of the three Insight Helicarriers. “Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized. One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.”

“Okay.” Steve shifted to make way for Sam as the man approached the table. Sam nudged Redwing to the side, the dragon ducking his head under one of Sam’s arms so he could rest it on the table. Sam didn’t seem to notice, he was too busy leaning in to stare at the chips. “It can’t be as simple as sneaking in.”

Fury shook his head. “We’re going to have to assume that everyone inside and working on the Helicarriers is Hydra. Once that’s done, we might have a chance to salvage what’s left.”

Liberty snorted, Steve nodding in agreement. “We’re not salvaging anything. There’s no telling SHIELD and Hydra apart.”

“Of course there is. If there wasn’t I wouldn’t have noticed. Just in case _you_ haven’t noticed, we’re here because I noticed.”

“Yes, and you handed me this problem like it was another mission. All I had was trust no one.”

Fury narrowed his eye. “You might have missed it, but I was bleeding out at the time.”

“It’s not just about this time, it’s about all the others. There has not been a mission in two years when you haven’t compartmentalized some aspect of it.”

“It’s what I have to do as director.”

There was a thud as Liberty put a hand on the table. The furniture groaned under his weight but Liberty didn’t move his hand. The dragon’s claws were close to the case, Steve expecting Fury to tug the case away from the dragon. Instead, Fury just leaned forward to match the dragon’s glare. “You have something to say, captain.”

“I should, considering that I was a founding member of SHIELD. Or does my vote not count?” Liberty snorted and lifted his hand from the table. “I never pegged you as someone who thought like that.”

Fury tensed, Steve surprised by how visibly angry the man got. He had thought that Fury would try to calmly talk his way out of the situation, or at least try and hide his anger. Surely Fury had years of dealing with dragons, he had to know that arguing with an angry or annoyed dragon wouldn’t get them anywhere.

Fury stood up slowly, getting to a point where he was almost on Liberty’s eye level. “What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything.” Liberty’s upper lip was twitching back in a snarl. Steve reached up to touch the hinge of Liberty’s jaw, not surprised when the dragon shook his head. Liberty glanced back at Steve before he focused on Fury again. “I’m telling you. Hydra infiltrated SHIELD because they brought in German scientists.”

“That wasn’t me.”

“I don’t care! They’ve been sitting inside of SHIELD since the beginning and no one noticed. Phillips didn’t notice, _Peggy_ didn’t notice.”

“I noticed.”

“They killed Maria! They killed _Howard_! No one noticed any of it and they were able to get so far with their plans. I’m not having it anymore. SHIELD goes down, because there’s no way that we can pick out the loyal operatives.”

Steve expected Fury to back down, especially since half of what Liberty had said had been obscured by a rumbling growl. Fury seemed to be doing alright standing up against the dragon, even meeting Liberty’s gaze evenly.

The two had a long stare off before Fury gestured with his one good arm. “So we drop SHIELD, then what? We take care of all the weird things that the other organizations can’t handle. Hydra had managed to worm their way in SHIELD, what’s to say they haven’t infiltrated other organizations. If we blow them out of the water here, who’s going to take care of them when they spring up somewhere else? Who’s going to take care of the next AIM or the next insane evil organization? Are you going to?”

Liberty stared at Fury for a moment before raising his head up. “Yes.”

Then the dragon was gone, lifting his hand off the table and storming away to the edge of the clear spot. Steve turned to watch him, watching as Liberty dropped to the floor, curling up with his back towards them. Even if he dragon looked like he was ignoring them, Steve was sure that dragon was paying attention to every word. If Liberty didn’t want to listen to them, he would have gone out of ear shot completely. The dragon was annoyed but still invested in the conversation.

Steve stared at Liberty’s sides, watching them rise and fall as the dragon calmed himself down. He waited until they had settled back into a slightly more sedate rhythm before turning to look at the people around the table.

They all stared back at him, Fury the only one that looked angry about the conversation that was going on. The man shook his head and sat down heavily in his seat. Fury gave the table the same searching glance that Steve had before he shot a glare up at him. “Do you have something to add to the conversation, captain?”

“I think Liberty did a good job.”

Fury sighed, looking over at where Redwing was just starting to peek out from under the table again. The feral nudged his way back under Sam’s arm, Sam going back to stroking Redwing’s head. He shrugged. “Hey, I just do what he does, only slower.”

Steve was sure that he heard Fury grumble as the man looked back around the table. Steve followed the motion, relaxing when he saw that no one seemed to want to speak up. Even Maria dropped her gaze back to the laptop she was working on.

Fury’s fingers drummed on the top of the case for a moment more before he lifted his hand away. “Fine. Looks like you’re the one giving orders, captain.”

Steve nodded, feeling the tension in his stomach start to ease. That was one battle taken care of, and the one that Steve had expected to be the hardest. Some part of him still expected Fury to come up with something else to argue against them or another hidden thing. Fury didn’t seem like the kind of man that would give up so easily. Then again, Steve was not about to let the chance get away from him. It was better to just take the chance and run with it.

He reached back for a chair, sighing when none came immediately to hand. He looked over seeing the chair by one of the far off pillars, probably from when Liberty had stepped up to press his point. Steve glanced over at Sam, the corner of his mouth twitching up when he saw that Redwing had pushed into the space that Sam wasn’t occupying. Sam groaned as the dragon shifted, but he didn’t shove Redwing away.

Steve gave Sam the time to sort himself out, listening as he heard Liberty shift behind him. The dragon wouldn’t edge back over to the table, but he was sure that Liberty would speak up if they started to do something that the dragon didn’t like. Then again, he and Liberty were probably in agreement on everything that they were about to do.

He leaned forward, bracing himself on the table. “The first thing we’re going to have to do is get inside the Triskelion, because there’s no way the seven of us are going to take the whole building. The agents inside the building will have to be our reinforcements. They’ll be closer to the Helicarriers than we will be and our first chance of keeping them out of the sky because, as far as I know, the fastest way to get to the Helicarriers is through the dragon bay.”

Liberty snorted at that, Steve hearing the slow drag of claws across concrete. He turned his head, watching as Liberty shifted, the dragon turning to look at them. “We can’t trust Decus or Amoena, we know that already. Who knows who else is against us.”

Maria frowned, typing at her laptop. “Do we know if any of the dragons are Hydra?”

“They didn’t seem too interested in dragons last time.” Steve frowned, looking down at the table. The Hydra he had known had focused on scientific advances over the old ways of war. Steve didn’t know if they had been avoiding the bother of luring the dragons and all the crew members to their side. Then again, this was a Hydra that had learned to hide in the shadows. He shrugged and looked up at Fury and Maria. “I don’t know about now.”

“I brought Captain Flores and Lozen into the operation to save you.” Maria paused in her typing, glancing over at Redwing before her gaze tracked to Liberty. “That makes our heaviest hitter a middleweight.”

“No.” Liberty drew the world out, his tail moving slowly. “They drugged me the night Fury died and they were going to try it again.”

Steve tensed at that, turning to face his dragon. Liberty barely looked at him, the dragon staring off into the darkness of the dam. “There were a few strange things that I noticed, like some of the dragons were asleep when they shouldn’t be and it looked like their captains were being threatened.”

“Which ones?”

“Flores was one of them, so was McCully and Wolanski. I didn’t get to hear what they were saying.”

Maria frowned. “The point still stands. You and Freedom are the largest dragons we have.”

Liberty turned his head to look at Maria, Steve sure that he saw amusement on the dragon’s face. “We can hold Amoena.”

“But can you hold the others? That what it comes down to. How long can you keep the dragons away from the Helicarriers?”

Liberty huffed, curling his claws against the concrete. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but there was no arguing with Maria’s point. He looked pleadingly over at Steve, stretching his neck out. His head fell short, but it was clear what Liberty wanted.

Steve sighed and shook his head. “We won’t engage, we don’t have the muscle for that. We’ll have to be quick and not waste what we have.” He pushed away from the table, looking over at where Redwing and Sam were sitting. “How fast can the two of you go?”

Redwing puffed out his chest. “Fast enough.”

“I could keep up with Redwing if he was trying to lose me, the wings should still be up for that.”

Steve nodded, looking over the people arranged at the table. They didn’t have much of a plan; it was something more along the lines of something that the Howling Commandos would have come up with. Still, the Howling Commandos had always managed on their combination of sound reconnaissance and good luck. Steve was willing to trust the old formula in this.

He motioned to Maria. “Bring up a blueprint of the Triskelion. We need to find entrance points.”

She nodded and bent over the laptop, Steve taking the chance to look back over at Liberty.

The dragon had started back over to the table, his head tipped to the side as he tried to see what Maria was doing. He must not have gotten what he was looking for because Liberty sighed and lowered his head close to Steve. Steve reached out to rest his hand on the side of Liberty’s face to keep the dragon from bumping his head against him.

He rubbed his fingers along the softer scales under Liberty’s eye. Steve saw Liberty’s eye soften, but it didn’t lose its focus. Steve was surprised that Liberty hadn’t circled around to look over Maria’s shoulder, but he seemed to content standing by Steve. The fact that Liberty was trying to keep close contact with him was something that Steve would ask the dragon about later. For the moment, he was just glad for the united front. It had almost been too easy to get Fury to back down and Steve almost expected Fury to speak up about they were doing.

Steve tried to look surreptitiously over at Fury, watching as the man leaned over to look at what Maria was pulling up. He curled his fingers against Liberty’s scales, glad that the dragon’s head blocked the motion.

It felt good to have a clear goal for the first time in the whole affair. It was better than chasing after whatever Fury had left behind or trying to outrun Hydra. He had always been better at just taking action than sitting back and letting things happen.

He leaned forward as Maria turned the laptop around, watching as she clicked through a few screens before getting to a blue print of the Triskelion. Steve stared at the floor plans, working through the familiar hallways and entrances as he picked out just where to launch their attack.

* * *

Liberty lifted his head from the falling water, taking a deep breath before shaking his head. He blinked his second eyelid back, snorting to clear his nose from water. Liberty shook his head again and dragged himself forward, moving more of his body under the small run off from the dam.

He turned his head to look at his shoulders, watching the water run off muddy. The run off from the dam wasn’t the ideal thing to wash off the mud and dirt, but it was better than nothing. The scales across his back had started to itch from where the harness had started to rub the grit between his scales. The covering of dirt had worked to hide his more distinctive markings, but Liberty doubted that they would be hiding much anymore.

He sighed and scratched at a particularly annoying patch of mud just on his shoulder, sighing when it finally sloughed off. There were plenty of annoying patches, but it didn’t take more than scratching or rubbing up against the dam to get them to come loose. It wasn’t the same as having one of the ground crew hose him off or really get in to scrub, but it would be good enough. Liberty let his hand drop back into the water, watching carefully for the moment for when it ran clean.

The sound of claws on rock made him look back to shore. Redwing was still perched on one of the large rocks on the other side of the dam, the smaller dragon sitting up on his haunches as he stared at the sky. Redwing’s talons were tangled in the chains that the dog tags were attached to, his head jerking as he scanned the sky.

Liberty sighed and dragged himself forward a little further. Redwing’s head jerked back towards him before the dragon resettled himself and stared up the sky. Liberty sighed and stretched out his neck, resting it on the nearest rock. “When I asked you to watch, I didn’t mean to be on high alert.”

“Why shouldn’t I be? We were attacked before.”

“They don’t know where we are.”

“How do you know?”

Liberty tipped his head to the side. “I’m listening for wingbeats.”

Redwing snorted. “But what if they come on foot? You’re not listening for humans, are you?”

Liberty shot the smaller dragon a glare at the question, but he didn’t bother to deny it. He might have been more experience at watching for danger when they were so close to people, but he never looked for it coming from people. He had spent most of his life making sure that people were safe, not expecting them to attack him. The rare times that it happened, he was already in a warzone, and it was easy to divide humans into ally and enemy there.

His silence must have been answer enough because Redwing gave an awkward bob of his head before shifting again. “I’m not risking this, not since Sam is going along. He might trust you, but I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know you or your captain.”

Liberty rumbled out a sound of agreement. He wouldn’t fault Redwing on that. Clearly the dragon was only following after Sam because of his friendship with Steve. Everything else was probably above the head of a dragon who had come from the deserts of Afghanistan. The biggest thing that Redwing would have had to worry about was food, not what politics would make his life harder.

He stretched a little, feeling the water loosen another chuck of mud and send it sliding down his side. Liberty shook his body awkwardly, feeling more mud give way. He heard them splash as they hit the water, Liberty tipping his head to watch them wash away with the current. He watched them dissolve away, abruptly turning his gaze away.

It was hard to settle down when he knew that there was a battle coming. He wasn’t a young dragon anymore, he didn’t jump at every chance to fight. Liberty wasn’t sure if that was just age or because he’d learned to be smart about how he fought. It had been a long time since he had fought with a wing of dragons to protect him, so it was easier to fight smart because he’d be the one hauling his crew and his sorry hide back to wherever they were based. It had always been easier to do that while he was whole.

Still, it was Hydra, which meant he was fighting the same war over again. Liberty stifled a growl, not wanting to set Redwing off. He thought he was done fighting the same war, he had finished with that after WWII. But there was Hydra again, and all he wanted to do was sink his claws into them. This time there wouldn’t be enough left of them to regroup.

Redwing jerked up where he was sitting, Liberty raising his head as well. He scanned the sky and the top of the dam before looking down at the path from the door to the river. He rumbled a greeting to Steve and Sam, standing up from the small waterfall as they came closer.

Sam climbed the rock to where Redwing was still sitting, resting a hand on the dragon’s shoulder. Liberty turned his head away to keep from hearing whatever conversation was going on between the two of them. They had all agreed to the plan, but Liberty didn’t think that Redwing would back out. Hydra had threatened Sam as well, that was more than enough encouragement to get the smaller dragon to fight. And then there was the humiliation of being muzzled.

Liberty ducked his head to scratch at the spot where the muzzle had sat. The thing had been cut off of him as soon as he had landed, something that he was grateful for. He didn’t enjoy being treated like he was a dangerous animal. That was the start of a tricky slope for all dragons.

He lowered his head as Steve came to a stop by the bank of the river. His captain looked him over, jerking his chin back to the waterfall. “Almost done?”

Liberty turned his head, staring at the patches still left on his tail and haunches. It was easy to take a step to the side to bring them back under the waterfall. He looked back at Steve, raising his wings slightly in a shrug. “There’s no point in hiding, right?”

“Right.” Steve drummed his fingers on his arm, Liberty pretending that he didn’t see his captain’s eagerness. “Hill is trying to contact Flores, but she doubts that they’ll be able to do anything before we’re ready to go. We’re cutting it fine.”

“We’ve done worse.”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “I’d rather we had more back up.”

Liberty nodded, tempted to ask about the Avengers. He knew why Steve hadn’t brought them up when they were working out the plan. It would have taken time to get them all to DC, especially if they had to sneak them all in. Even then it would be like assembling all of Hydra’s targets in place. If they were already running close to the launch time then Liberty didn’t want any of the Avengers in the line of fire.

Instead, he dropped into a crouch so he could be on Steve’s eye level. “I don’t think the others will let us down.”

“No.” Steve reached out to pat Liberty’s nose. “Just get those dragons into the air as fast as you can. We’ll need all the cover we can get.”

“No problem.” Liberty puffed out his chest slightly. “They’ve been living with threats to their captains for three days, they’ll jump at the chance.”

“Just watch out for the heavyweight.”

Liberty huffed, about to point out that he had handled a larger dragon down in Florida when Sam slid down the rock. Redwing bounded down to land beside him, his wings still spread slightly for balance. Redwing met Liberty’s gaze for a moment before looking away, Liberty not having the time to ask him what was wrong before Sam spoke up.

“He’ll be there too. Can you two handle it?”

Liberty hissed at the reminder, looking down at the water. He could hear Steve shifting on the shore, but he didn’t dare look back over because he didn’t know how he would handle it.

Bucky had been one of his, the first Howling Commando that he had lost. He curled his claws into the river bed. Meeting Bucky on the road had been a surprise, but the flight over had given him plenty of time to think over what it had meant.

It had been clear that Bucky didn’t recognize them. There was every chance that it would happen again, and Liberty knew what Steve would do. Steve would try and save him, and that was Liberty’s first instinct as well. It didn’t matter what had happened in the intervening years, he was still _his_ Bucky. _His_ crew. But Liberty was afraid of what he would do if Bucky turned on Steve. It would have been so easily to kill Bucky on the road, and it frightened him that he had thought nothing of it. If the worst happened, Liberty wasn’t sure what he would do.

Bucky was important, but there was Steve to consider and the rest of his crew that was threatening by Project Insight.

He shifted nervously before looking over at Steve. His captain had clenched his jaw, Steve staring off into the distance before he shook his head. “Don’t worry about us.”

Sam laughed and shook his head. “Look, I know something about losing friend in the war and I would jump at the chance if Riley could come back. But that’s not coming back. That’s something that you might not be able to save.”

“Then what do I do?”

“I don’t know, man.” Sam shrugged. “They don’t train you for this kind of what if.”

Liberty shifted slightly, hearing the rocks on the bottom of the river grind and they shifted against each other. From the way that Sam lifted his head, the man heard it to. Liberty tried his best to look serious, although he was sure that Sam was trained in the body language of dragons, it was part of his job. He lifted his head to look down at Sam, hoping the distance would help. “We weren’t trained in this either, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop us. He’s one of ours.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to bring up Riley, but he snapped his mouth shut. That was a low blow that he wasn’t about to stoop to.

He kept his gaze even until Sam shrugged and turned away. “Just remember to keep the skies clear. I don’t have fire or claws like you do.”

“But you have guns.”

Sam laughed, shooting him an amused look before waving him away. “Yeah, yeah. Tell me who will win in a fight.”

Liberty tipped his head to the side, conceding Sam the point. Unless the human was very careful in bullet placement, the dragon would have the advantage. His upper lip twitched up at the thought, Liberty keeping himself still. That was something that he knew, it was what he had been taught by his first captain and the years of experience he had. Still, Sam had Redwing to look after him, and Liberty was sure that the smaller dragon would be able to out fly any of the Triskelion dragons save for Glorior. Even then, Liberty was sure that Redwing would be able to take on Glorior, there was something about the way that Redwing held himself that said as much.

He watched as Redwing walked after Sam, his dog tags jingling merrily. Liberty lifted his head as high as it would go, watching the two of them go back into the dam. He supposed that they were going in for a final briefing, Liberty sighing and looking down his back. The worst of the mud was gone but it would take a deeper scrubbing to get rid of the rest, and they didn’t have the time for that. Besides, Liberty was sure that he would get plenty dirty in the upcoming battle. If they were turning the Insight Helicarriers against themselves, there was sure to be destruction.

He paused when Steve didn’t follow him, turning his head to look back at his captain. Steve was still staring at the other side of the river, looking like he was miles away. Liberty stepped carefully around Steve, curling around his captain. Steve didn’t seem to notice him. Liberty settled on the ground, resting his head on his forelegs. He knew that he should go back into the dam to get his harness on and he wanted to check on Natasha before they took flight. As soon as he landed at the Triskelion he wouldn’t be seeing her for the duration of the mission, which was something that he knew she could handle. But she was injured and he wanted to at least make sure that she was alright before everything got into motion. He had that same worry for Steve, especially since his captain had checked out completely the last time they had seen Bucky.

Liberty shifted his head closer to Steve, not wanting to touch his captain. He watched Steve for a moment more before purposefully breathing out slowly. “Steve?”

Steve jumped at the sound of his name, staring at the shore for a moment more before looking at Liberty. He reached out to touch Liberty but pulled his hand back, Liberty disturbed by the distance between them. “Steve?”

“He was dead, right? Bucky? We didn’t just leave him?”

Liberty froze at the question, his eyes going wide. It had been years since he had thought about what had happened to Bucky. It had been easier to put it behind him and keep moving, because stopping had been the worse option. Liberty didn’t even think he remembered where he had buried Bucky despite trying to commit the place to memory. All he could remember was a train track through a gorge and pile of snow. Worse still, he had never gone back to check. Steve had gone down and then he had been in England. After that, he had been too busy with the SSR. Sometime in the intervening years Bucky had just become like the other Howling Commandos, mourned but just another memory.

He clawed at the ground, looking anywhere but Steve. “I checked when he fell. He wasn’t breathing and I was sure that he was dead, but I was panicked and angry.”

“It’s not your fault. I just had to know.”

“But I buried him.” Liberty felt his throat constrict in panic, the brief tightness that came before he breathed fire. He tilted his head down, tempted to plunge his muzzle into the water. He waited the feeling out before speaking again. “I buried him and kept flying.”

Steve made a noise that Liberty didn’t quite know how to interpret. He tipped his head to see Steve better, but his captain didn’t reveal anything else. If anything, Steve just looked focused.

Liberty hesitated before leaning his head into Steve, holding there. He wasn’t sure if the sign of affection helped, but the fact that Steve reached over to pat him at least meant that he was forgiven. Steve wouldn’t have hesitated to move away if he still thought that Liberty was to blame. Besides, it was too late to do anything about the train, all they could do was attempt to fix things now.

He stepped away from Steve, turning his head to look at the door into the dam. Redwing and Sam had already disappeared inside. He leaned in the direction of the path before stopping himself. There was no way that he would fit through the door and he’d already had enough of the space on the inside of the dam with its columns and obstructions. They had gotten enough of a briefing before, and Steve had made his plan clear enough. Just as soon as he dropped in with them he was to go down to the dragon bay and draw out their allies in case Hydra tried to make a move.

Liberty sighed and resettled his wings, growling when he felt one of them not quite lying flat. He ducked his head under his wing to pry a bit of mud free. It made a satisfying thump as it fell onto the path, Liberty glaring at its broken pieces. He gave himself a rough shake to throw off any remaining pieces of mud. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best he was going to get rushing into battle. Still, there was something to be said about blazing into a fight with his scales clean and shining.

He curled his tail slightly around Steve, fully expecting his captain to remain by the stream until they had to start the operation. To his surprise, Steve turned and walked along the length of his body, hand pressed firmly against his scales. Steve ran his hand along the bottom of his jaw, coming to a stop right by Liberty’s eye. “We should be getting your harness on.”

Liberty groaned, thinking of the muddy mess of a harness that he had left close to the door. He had been tempted to drag the thing into the waterfall with him, but he had been too eager to get the worst of the mess off of him. The harness could wait for another chance to clean, it would just get dirty in the fight.

He ducked his head to polish the captain’s bars on his breast collar, looking Steve over. His captain was still in civilian’s clothes and his shield was probably back inside. He ducked his head further down to nudge Steve, nearly tipping the man over. “You going in that?”

“No. I have something else planned.”

“The usual?”

“Have we done this any other way?” Steve gave the side of his face a friendly pat before walking up towards the door to the dam.

Liberty fell into step beside him, adopting the slower pace that was needed to allow humans to keep up with him. He kept an eye on Steve, looking for the hints of what was going through his captain’s head. All he could see was the determined set of Steve’s jaw and the far away gaze that meant that he was already working on the battle ahead. It wasn’t the face that he could almost remember from the war, it was then new one that he had gotten used to seeing since Steve had come out of the ice, but it was a little bit better. Steve didn’t look so distant anymore. He looked like he had a purpose.

* * *

Liberty kept close to the river as they headed for the Triskelion, his wings tips brushing against the top of the water with every stroke. The space between Ronald Regan Airport and the Triskelion was kept clear for the dragons. It was a common enough approach, one that wouldn’t draw notice. Liberty hoped that it wouldn’t, not with two other Firecrackers patrolling DC regularly. He hoped that they would take him for Blaze of Glory and look the other way, at least until they were too close to do anything against him.

He risked a glance towards the back edge of his left wing, checking on Redwing. The small feral was keeping up with ease and keeping himself tucked as close to Liberty as he dared. It was closer to the water that Liberty would have flown, but Redwing didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Even his nervous grasping at his dog tags had stopped, the feral focused on looking around at his surroundings.

Liberty jerked his head towards where the launching platform sat out on the water. Redwing gave him a quick nod that showed that he had marked the place, but he didn’t move away from Liberty’s side. The two of them would stick together until the humans had unloaded safely. He didn’t intend to split the two of them up until there was a fight.

He turned his attention back to the looming building of the Triskelion. He couldn’t see any dragons slipping out of the bay, or maybe they had all been called in to prevent them fouling up the lift off of the Helicarriers. Liberty was inclined to believe the latter. It had to have been hard to get their men onto dragons, especially ones that were sympathetic to their cause. Hydra wouldn’t risk the safety of their heavyweight, not when there were so few left in the world.

He lashed his tail, quickly straightening it out before it could foul Redwing’s flight. He would puzzle out what to do later, the first thing he had to concentrate on was getting the others up to the helicopter pad.

Liberty beat his way away from the water, angling for the pad that was the further up the building. He had seen Glorior landing there a few times when his captain had been in a rush, but no other dragon had made a habit of landing there. Liberty wasn’t sure that the two of them would be able to fit, but it wouldn’t be for long.

He stuck to the side of the building that didn’t have windows, hiding himself in the spaces where all three towers of the Triskelion met as he beat upwards. He swung his head from side to side, checking for any agents that would sound the alarm, but there were none. Apparently, they were all focused on the Insight launch, which was perfect for them. He stretched his forelegs out to push off from the building, using the distance he gained to drop onto the helicopter pad.

It was awkward to try and land in a curve and in a crouch, Liberty growling out a curse when his back leg slipped off the platform. He was quick to tuck it up against him again, looking over at where Redwing was crouching awkwardly behind the entrance to the roof. The little dragon moved his head with quick jerks before giving him a nod. Liberty returned the nod, twisting his head to look at the humans.

Steve was already sliding down his foreleg, the only one that was firmly on the pad. Sam was following after, the EXO-7 strapped firmly into place. Liberty watched the two men until they were down onto firm ground. They waited as Fury started to haul himself down, the director waving off any attempts to help him, even when Liberty lowered his head for a balance point.

Fury shoved his muzzle away, the motion not moving him too far. “I can get down myself. Overgrown lizard.”

Liberty huffed but kept up his careful watch until Fury was down on the ground. He was aware of Maria leaning over his shoulder to watch Fury’s progress, but he didn’t look back at her until Fury had ducked under the protection of his belly like the others had.

Maria nodded at him and tapped on her comm unit, Liberty wincing at the static that came over the line. It was nothing like the noise that came from any of the Stark gear, he was used to the sounds that it made when he changed the channels. He saw Redwing jump as well, the feral dragon lifting a talon up to where the comm unit was set against his ear. Liberty hissed in warning, Redwing jerking his hand away. They both needed their units, no matter how old and jerry rigged they were, they would be out of range of shouting for most of the operation.

His attention went back to Maria as she tapped his shoulder. She motioned at the comm in her own ear. “The channel is set so don’t change it or we’ll lose you.”

“Reading you loud and clear. And the others?” He got confirmations from the rest of the team, including a very quiet response from Redwing. Liberty tilted his head, closing his eyes as he waited for the last confirmation.

It came while Maria was climbing down, Liberty tipping his head to the side as a crisp British accent came on over the line. “The flight was pleasant enough, but the traffic was horrible.”

Whatever the response was, Liberty didn’t get a chance to hear it. He heard a few more snippets of conversation, but he tuned them out. He had been given code words to listen for in case she got in trouble, but he wasn’t allowed to go rushing in until then. It would blow Natasha’s cover. Natasha was more that capable of handling herself, especially with Fury as back up, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.

Maria dropped to the ground, giving his leg a quick pat before rushing under his belly and towards where Redwing was waiting. The feral dragon turned to look at her before stepping out of his hiding place. Redwing remained out in the open as Fury followed after Maria with Sam on his tail. Sam was quick to step to where Redwing was, holding the dragon’s head close. Liberty could catch a few words spoken over the comms, purposefully ignoring them.

Liberty lowered his head to look at where Steve was still under his stomach. He had to lift up a leg to be able to touch Steve’s shoulder, sniffing at the uniform that Steve was wearing. It smelled faintly of mothballs and whatever the museum had used to keep it clean. Liberty tried to find some familiar scent under it all, the smell of campfires, guns or the ozone smell of the Hydra weapons that the Howling Commandos had used, but there was nothing else. Seventy years in a museum had wiped it all away. But it was good to see Steve back in uniform, even if it was the old one.

He knew better than to ask if Steve thought the plan would work, Steve wouldn’t have allowed them to move. He settled for nudging Steve’s shoulder. “Be careful.”

“You too.” Steve adjusted the shield on his arm. “Try to keep yourself out of trouble as long as possible, we might need you.”

“If that happens, try not to get locked in a small room. I don’t feel like tearing through the building to find you.”

Steve grinned up at him before jogging away and into the Triskelion. Liberty lifted his head to watch his captain go, letting himself linger for a moment before he turned his attention back to Redwing. “Ready?”

The cream and red dragon gave a short chirp before pressing himself against the roof. Liberty watched as Redwing crawled over to the edge, the dragon tipping his head to peer over the side before rolling easily off the lip. Liberty huffed and launched himself from the roof, keeping his wings tight against his sides.

With Steve and the others inside the Triskelion it was more important that they move quickly instead of quietly. Besides, Liberty was sure that Steve would start his bid for help at any time. He wanted to be in the dragon bay when that happened, and hopefully with all of their enemies secured. If they could manage to trap the captains beyond the backdoor then there was a chance that the Hydra dragons would surrender quickly. That would be a better victory than anything else, because it meant that he and Redwing could focus on protecting Steve and Sam when they went after the Helicarriers instead of chasing dragons around.

He opened his wings abruptly, gliding over the landing pad before banking tightly. Liberty came down in a tight spiral, letting his momentum carry him partially into the tunnel into the dragon bay. He ducked his head, flicking his tongue out as he slowed down. He could smell the other dragons, but he couldn’t tell if they were all presence, their scents were too ingrained into the place. Liberty bared his teeth, rocking forward only to stop himself. He shifted his foreleg out to stop Redwing. He gave the tunnel a quick glance before lowering his head to whisper to the smaller dragon. “There’s a door on the other side, hold it.”

Redwing bobbed his head and shot off down the tunnel, Liberty watching as he managed to get off the floor slightly. The smaller dragon rose out of his sight, Liberty hearing the shouts of alarm from the ground crew and dragons. Considering that they were only shouts, Redwing was moving faster than they were acting, which was good enough for him. Redwing would be settled by the only exit for the ground crews by the time he blocked the front. Better yet, the crews were the ones that were the closest to the Insight Helicarriers according to Steve and Fury. There was nothing they could do about the agents already with the Helicarriers, but they could prevent reinforcements from coming in.

Liberty walked through the tunnel, puffing out his chest as soon as he was past the choke point. He watched as all the dragons turned away from where Redwing had planted himself in front of the back door. He let his gaze linger for a long time on Amoena and Blaze of Glory. Out of the two of them, Glory was the one who looked furious. Liberty held Glory’s gaze for a beat longer than was comfortable for most dragons before giving the rest of the room a steady look, alert for any movement.

He could see some of the ground crew reaching for their weapons, Liberty baring of his teeth. The agents came to a stop quickly, Liberty watching as they dropped their hands away. He opened his wings slightly, his head jerking up at the awkward crackle through his comm unit. From the way that the agents and dragons jerked their heads up, it wasn’t just the comm unit. Liberty tipped his head to the side as Steve’s voice came over the loudspeakers, but his gaze didn’t leave the dragons, watching to see which ones twitched or looked annoyed.

“Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot the Nick Fury and it won't end there.

“If you launch those Helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not.”

There was a heavy pause that followed the statement, Liberty seeing all of the dragons tense. It was hard to tell which way it would go, but he found himself leaning back onto his haunches. Fire licked up at the back of his throat, Liberty dropping his mouth open slightly. The first dragon that moved towards him or Redwing would get burned.

The threat of fire along with the announcement seemed to send the dragon bay into an impasse, Liberty swaying slightly as he waited for someone to make the wrong move.

* * *

Redwing sat up tall on his hindquarters, his wings spread out as far as he could get without making it look like he would fly away. It had sounded like a good plan when Steve and Liberty had been talking about it, all he had to do was sit in front of a door and not let anyone through. Even staring at the building it had seemed simple because he had been thinking about the humans, he hadn’t had to think about the dragons until he had landed in place.

He turned his head from side to side, trying to track the movement of all the dragons in the bay. There were only seven dragons, but the enclosed space made them seem more crowded, especially with the humans standing around. The dragons he could fight, but the humans he would have to be careful of. Redwing eyed the humans closest to him before adjusting his stance.

It took all he had not to reach up and touch his dog tags. The quiet didn’t need to be broken, there was still a chance that one side would stand down. He had seen it out in the wild the few times his band of dragons had tried to muscle into other territories. Once the threat displays had been done there had always been a beat of silence while both sides decided if they wanted to go through with it all. Redwing was used to being the side that flinched first and went scurrying back to the desert, but there was no desert this time. To get anywhere he would have to fight.

He bared his teeth, glancing between the dragons. He wanted desperately to be the one to make the first move, although he had the sinking feeling that it would mean running back to Sam. Sam was safe. Redwing shifted in place, looking over the dragons and running down what Liberty had told him about them to keep him steady.

The heavyweight in brown, green and red was Amoena. She was the one that they were most in danger from because of her size. She was Hydra.

There were two dragons, brown with white speckles, Decus and Dejudicavi. Decus was the one with the speckled muzzle, and he was Hydra. Dejudicavi was undecided.

The beige, black and white spotted dragon was Lozen and she was definitely on their side.

The brown and purple was Glorior, the only dragon his size and Hydra.

There were two dragons that looked like Liberty, Proclamation of Freedom and Blaze of Glory. It was the male that was Hydra, the other was unknown.

Redwing let out his breath slowly, clamping his teeth closed before he could turn it into a hiss. One threat could break the careful peace that they had and he didn’t want to be the one to do it, not with Amoena so close to him. The heavyweight would be able to bowl him over easily, which would either send him into a wall or through a window.

He turned his head slightly to look at the window, plotting an easy way to get through it without taking too much damage when he noticed that there were three people on the other side. The first thing he noticed about them were the gold bars that they wore on their clothes that looked a lot like the ones that were on Liberty’s breast collar.

One of the humans noticed his attention, the woman tapping at the bars on her chest before pointing down the aisle. Redwing tipped his head to the side, looking over the dragons that were all halfway out of their stalls. He couldn’t tell who the woman was pointing to but it definitely wasn’t the heavyweight. When he looked back at her, she just nodded at him before pressing her palm against the window.

Redwing shifted in place, looking away from them. For all he knew, it could be a trap. He had watched humans spring traps on each other before and he didn’t want to ruin the plan, not when it gave their enemies their people to protect. He could still see the people out of the corner of his eye, all three of them waving at him to try and get his attention. Redwing shifted slightly so he couldn’t see the people stopping when some of the dragons turned to glare at him. Redwing puffed himself up, ready to answer their challenge when Blaze of Glory swung back around.

He watched as the Firecracker’s wings rose slightly, the dragon’s body tensing. It meant a spring, except that Glory remained still, his muscles trembling. Then, the dragon lifted his head up until it was on the same level as Liberty’s. From his place in the back of the dragon bay he couldn’t see Glory’s expression, but the tension in the dragon was enough.

“Hail Hydra!”

The words were hissed out, Redwing watching as some of the humans scattered in the face of the sparks dripping from the sides of Glory’s mouth.

The other dragons didn’t seem to have the same worry about the fire, they were all stepping out into the aisle with a snarl. For a moment, Redwing was sure that Liberty and Steve had been wrong. All of the dragons were moving with a single intensity towards the front of the bay. There were too many for Liberty to handle, and then they would all turn on him.

Redwing took a step back towards the door, pressing himself up against it to judge the height and width. He was a little too big to be able to squeeze through it quickly enough to avoid the dragons. The best way to get out and around would be to go through the window. The only dragon that would be able to follow him would be Glorior, and Redwing could handle those odds.

He glanced to the side, staring at the large metal trough that had been pushed against the wall. Redwing reached for it, closing his claws around it. As soon as a dragon moved, he would push it towards the glass and shove it through.

He looked back towards the front of the dragon bay as Liberty huffed. “Fine then.”

The two dragons charged at each other, Redwing jumping at the fire that burst from the two of them. He tightened his hold on the trough and skittered to the side, the trough screeching as it was dragged across the floor. Redwing didn’t think that any of the others would hear it over the sound of Liberty and Glory roaring at each other, but Decus’ head turned around.

Decus hissed and clambered over the tangle of bodies, heading towards him. Redwing stared at the lightweight dragon bearing down on him, freezing at the familiar sight. Charging had been the one sure way to scatter the band and Redwing’s first impulse was to duck away, but there was nowhere else to go.

He roared his own challenge, shoving the trough towards the window. Redwing vaguely heard the glass shatter as the edge of the trough slammed against it. He jumped to the side, moving away from the falling glass and into range of Decus’ head as he lowered it. Redwing crouched and then sprang forward, using the one advantage that he had. He was small and quick, and Decus was used to a different kind of attack. Decus had never fought outside quick bombing runs or scaring off dragons on missions, and it was obvious by the way that Decus had dared to rush at him with his head down.

Redwing slammed into Decus’ head, the lightweight roaring in pain as Redwing dug his claws in for balance. Decus went down onto his side, Redwing not bothering to try and keep his hold. He let himself slip and slide, his claws raking down the side of Decus’ face before they dug into the dragon’s eye.

Decus roared again, his whole body bucking as Redwing clawed the area bloody before sliding off to the other side. The lightweight might not have fought much in his life, but he wasn’t stupid. Decus kept his face pressed against the ground, Redwing only able to get at the ridges and area surrounding the eye before he hopped away.

He snarled, watching as Decus went still with a low moan, the dragon breathing heavily. Redwing gave the lightweight another hiss, sidestepping around him as he worked his way over to the window.

A quick glance showed that the humans were already scrambling out and shoving their way to the front. The woman who had tried to get his attention before was already scrambling up onto her dragon. Lozen pivoted in place, squeezing through the small space left from where Liberty and Glory were tussling. They were out through the tunnel in the blink of an eye, the other Firecracker scooping up her captain and rushing after her.

Redwing glanced around the bay, looking at the roaring and fighting dragons before making his decision. There was no way to hold the bay, not with so many dragons and people milling around. If they tried to hold it, then there was a good chance that most of their allies would get crushed. They wouldn’t be able to help Sam or Steve if they were dead.

He clambered over Decus’ body, feeling the dragon jerk and whimper in pain but the lightweight didn’t move from where he was lying on the floor. Redwing hopped off Decus’ side, keeping himself low to the ground as he skittered between the panicking humans and the dragons that were bobbing on the edge of the conflict. Some of the humans were coming out of their shock and pulling out guns, Redwing making sure to bowl them over. It wouldn’t keep them down, but it would at least give their allies the time to get into the air.

Redwing leapt awkwardly over a slow swipe from Amoena, breaking into a run when he saw daylight between the right bank of stalls and the two dragons snapping at each other on the floor. He was nearly through the gap when one of the humans stumbled into his path, Redwing staring at the gun before he dropped and rolled to the side. The human didn’t expect it, Redwing hearing the gun go off.

He stumbled to his feet, turning as he heard something heavy hit the ground. He stared at the dragon corpse sprawled across the center of the aisle, his wings flaring out in shock. He had never expected them to start shooting at the dragons, he had thought that the humans would stick to their own kind, that’s how it had always been done. Redwing edged around the man, looking between the human and Dejudicavi’s corpse.

Dejudicavi’s captain was crouching by her dragon, stroking her face. Redwing heard one of the other dragon’s moan, but the sound was cut off at the human cocked the gun again.

“The next one to move gets shot, dragon or human!” The person glanced around at the still dragon bay, seeming to gain confidence in the fact that everyone obeyed his order. “Now, lay down your weapons and surrender to Hydra, we’ve got you outnumbered and outgunned.”

Redwing stared at the human, waiting for her to make a move. He fully expected the human to turn and shoot someone else so he forgot to keep track of Dejudicavi’s captain.

He heard the scrape of a boot against the floor, Redwing turning to see the woman standing by her dead dragon’s head. The captain glared at the other man before she made a lazy motion with her hand. “Let’s get ‘em!”

A shout rose up from the humans, Redwing breaking into the run instinctually. He ducked through the space left between Glory’s hind leg and Liberty’s tail. He clambered up the tunnel, taking to the air as soon as he had the space to lift off. He pushed off harder than he had to from the landing platform, gaining altitude with hard beats of his wings.

He twisted around to look down at the landing pad, expecting to see dragons pouring out, but there was nothing. Redwing craned his head up to look at the two dragons circling above him. From the way that they were peering down at the landing pad, they were just as confused as he was. Redwing looked up at them, tempted to rise to their level, but he didn’t want to get close to the two dragons. A lifetime of dodging military dragons was ingrained in him and he didn’t want to risk getting close to him, not when he didn’t know them. Liberty’s word wasn’t enough.

Redwing flipped over so he could circle in the other direction. He tipped his head at the low hum of mechanics, watching in horror as two sheets of metal started to slowly open. He saw three long runways, Redwing staring at them until he recognized them from the schematics that Maria Hill had showed him. They were the Helicarriers.

He cursed and reached up to pat at the side of his head, Redwing having to twist his head awkwardly to press the button that would activate his side of it. “Sam, I see the Helicarriers.”

There was silence over the line, Redwing worried that the comm unit had shifted to a different channel. He was tempted to claw at it to try and get a better hold on it, but he held himself steady. He was the only one directly connected to Sam and Steve, so he was the only one to warn them that they would have to shift their plan. “Sam?”

“Red-” There was a crackle and hiss of static over the line that cut off the rest of what Sam had said. Redwing hissed and tapped the comm again. The static was louder this time, but Sam’s voice came in clear. “Redwing? What is it?”

“I’m above the Helicarriers. They’re about to launch.”

He heard Sam curse and the edges of a conversation with Steve before he was back. “Stay close and tell me everything. We’ll be out in a minute.” There was a pause. “Cap is asking about Liberty.”

“Down in the bay.”

“Get him out an up in the air, we’re going to need you.”

Redwing sighed and looked back up at the other two dragons. He hesitated before diving back down. They would be able to figure out what needed to happen soon enough, Steve had told them what Hydra was planning on doing and they were trained for this sort of thing. The Helicarriers could be their problem, he would be glad to fall back in with Sam.

He dropped onto the landing pad, remaining crouched back on his hindquarters. He wanted to be able to get away quickly if all the wrong dragons came spilling out. What he could smell was a lot of blood, and that made him worry. If there was a bloodbath in the dragon bay then there was a chance that they would have to try and stop the Helicarriers on their own. Redwing thought that he could slip into the place where the chips needed to be placed, but he didn’t think claws were needed for the job. There were codes and precise placement, things that he couldn’t quite do.

He cleared his throat and inched forward, barely getting the chance to draw in a breath when a red, white and blue blur came racing out.

Redwing threw himself to the side, his claws skittering over the landing pad. He felt his hind legs slip off the side, Redwing hopping to keep himself on the pad. He turned his head to look at the dragon, snarling when he saw that it was Glory. The Firecracker returned the snarl before going after the opening doors. Redwing winced at the two roars from above as Lozen and Freedom dove after the other dragon, but he kept his gaze focused on the dragon bay.

It didn’t take long for Liberty to come charging out. Liberty skewed slightly on the platform, ready to jump when his head jerked back towards Redwing. Liberty came up short, his wings still spread.

The pause in motion was enough of a question in itself that Redwing dared to move forward. “They’re opening the bay doors, they’re launching.”

Liberty pivoted, Redwing having to jump over the dragon’s tail as Liberty stared back at the Helicarrier bay. He made a high pitched sound of annoyance before jumping into the air.

Redwing heard him shouting commands over the comm, but he ignored them in favor of getting into the air himself. If the Helicarriers were going to be launched, then the other dragons would come out to escort them. He didn’t want to be in the way when the heavyweight hauled herself out onto the landing pad.

He spun as he gained height, glancing around for any other threats. The only one currently was Blaze of Glory, but Liberty was already charging the other Firecracker and harrying him away from the rising Helicarriers. Redwing could see other humans starting to race along the bridge and the other outer walkways, but they were too far for him to tell if they were on their side or not. Most of them just ran up to the edge and stopped, staring at what was going on. It wasn’t the action that Sam would have wanted, but at least people were reacting. Knowing humans, they would start choosing sides when they figured out how the odds were stacked.

He snorted and banked, catching sight of two figures running towards the Helicarriers. He recognized Sam from his familiar run and Steve from the bright red on his uniform.

Redwing called out to Sam and dropped low, skimming over the asphalt. He saw Sam’s head rise for a moment before the man reached back and jerked on something on the pack on his back. Redwing beat up to avoid the wings spreading out from the pack, hanging back as Sam kicked into the air.

He remembered flying with Sam and Riley when the suits were being tested. The two of them had never allowed him to come on any of the missions, but Redwing hadn’t argued too much about that. He liked the humans, but not enough to throw himself into the line of fire, at least not until now.

He gave Sam’s wings a wide birth, settling into a defensive position above Sam. He tipped his head back, glancing up at where Lozen and Freedom were diving down towards the Helicarriers.

Two of the three were rising faster than the others, Redwing assuming that they were trying to stay out of each other’s way. According to what Maria had told them, all of them needed to climb to a certain height to be useful, which meant that they had been given the advantage. Sam seemed to realize it at the same time, because he turned and headed up for the fastest rising Helicarrier.

A roar carried over the whine of the Helicarriers’ engines. Redwing turned with a yelp, back winging as Sam shifted to protect his belly. Neither move was needed, Redwing turning his head to see Amoena barreling out of the dragon bay, the brown, red and green dragon turning her head from side to side as she took in the attempts on the Helicarriers. Redwing saw the small dots of humans as they scrambled up onto her back, but only a few managed to get on before Amoena launched herself into the air. Redwing didn’t bother to watch the humans shout for the dragon, he was too busy watching the heavyweight spiral up into the air and meet with immediate resistance as Lozen and Freedom stooped down on her.

The three dragons met with an earsplitting roar before they tumbled back towards the river. Redwing watched them for a moment before turning his head away. The two dragons would be enough to keep the larger heavyweight from charging up at the Helicarriers for a short while, which was all he needed.

Redwing flipped over himself to make a sharp turn, beating quickly for the highest Helicarrier. He didn’t bother to look back for Sam, because he knew the human would follow. It was the same knowledge that had helped him when he was hunting with his band. They would always be there, just hanging off his wingtip.

He focused his gaze on the Helicarrier, scanning the lumbering behemoth. It had seemed so easy while he had been looking at the schematics that Maria had shown them, but he’d been able to see through the structure. He could see the vague area that Maria had drawn their attention to but only because of the glass bulb that extended blow the Helicarrier’s belly. He flexed his claws, considering how to break through the glass without injuring himself. Certainly just plowing through the glass would be easier than fighting through the agents that were already on board.

“Roll right!”

The order took him by surprise, Redwing halfway through the motion before he realized that Sam had been the one to call it out. And then he was watching the brown and purple Glorior streak through the gap between them. Redwing watched as the dragon twisted, growling as Glorior turned towards Sam.

He came out of his roll, increasing his speed so he could plow into Glorior. He heard the dragon squawk, but his attention was already back on where Sam was darting down towards the belly of the Helicarrier.

There weren’t any dragons on the deck, but the guns were starting to move to aim at the dragons in the air. Redwing hissed at them and kicked away from Glorior. He didn’t think that the agents on the Helicarrier would hesitate to fire at the two of them, even if Glorior was on their side. He would just have to play the fight smart, because he couldn’t see any safe spots to take breaks in. And, if he wasn’t drawing the fire from the Helicarrier, then it would focus on Sam.

He snarled, banking in a tight circle before dropping on Glorior from above. The dragon roared as Redwing dug his claws in, beating his wings wildly. He was smaller than Glorior, but they weighted the same and it would take all of Glorior’s strength to hold them both in the air. Dropping would be suicide, because Redwing could just hold on until it was too late for Glorior to pull up. That left him with plenty of time to claw and bite at the dragon’s back.

Redwing bit down on the point where Glorior’s neck met his back. He wasn’t able to set his teeth in securely, too busy sliding around on the dragon’s back as he tried to stay on. Redwing tried to lock his claws around the harness that the dragon was wearing, but it was hard to get a grip where his legs wouldn’t be battered by Glorior’s wings as he struggled in the air.

He felt his claws sink into scales and skin when Glorior bucked, Redwing scrambling for a better hold before he toppled off. He turned quickly in the air, staring up at Glorior as the dragon dove after him. Redwing snarled, beating down the urge to turn and run. He needed to hold the line until Sam was done and Glorior was the only one his size. Redwing wasn’t about to take a bite out of the Helicarrier and win, so Glorior it was.

Redwing gave himself a quick shake, sucking it a quick breath before lunging at Glorior again.

* * *

It was hard to hear anything over the whine of the Helicarrier engines and the roar of the dragons, but Liberty had no choice. Sometime in his scuffle with Blaze of Glory his comm unit had gotten knocked out, but there was no going back for it. The dragon bay was swarming with humans and Amoena held the entrance where she was being held by Lozen and Proclamation of Freedom. He knew the plan well enough, and he would just have to keep watch in case something changed, but Glory was making that hard on him.

Liberty snarled as the Firecracker dove at him, twisting around to avoid the charge. He grunted at one of Glory’s wings knocked against his head. He shook his head to clear it, craning his head around to follow Glory’s progress.

The dragon’s crew had managed to clamber onto his back between the time that Dejudicavi had been killed and when Glory had decided to take the fight to the open air. Liberty bared his teeth, eyeing the crew. He couldn’t quite get a count on them to tell if they were all there, but it was a distinct disadvantage for him. The crew wouldn’t have their full range of weapons, but Liberty was willing to bet that they were all armed. He wouldn’t be able to push in for a close range attack, not unless he wanted to be peppered with bullets. That didn’t stop him from wanting to throw himself in among them and rip them off Glory’s back.

He was done refighting battles. Hydra had already taken so much from him. They had taken Bucky and kept him away. They had taken Steve away from him for seventy years. They had taken Howard and Maria away, they had taken SHIELD away from him. And they were trying to take the Avengers away.

Liberty snarled and darted forward to meet Glory’s next charge. He jerked up at the last minute, raking his claws along Glory’s face and partially down his neck. He used the pass to look down at the Helicarrier that Steve had charged onto. He couldn’t see his captain, but that just meant that Steve was making his way down to glass chamber inside the Helicarriers. Liberty tried to see inside the glass, but he had to twist around to meet Glory’s next attack.

His claws caught on the spines that ran down Glory’s back, Liberty growling his frustration as he tried to get a good hold where they weren’t digging into his legs. Their spines weren’t sharp enough to cut, they weren’t facing the right way for it, but they were annoying. Liberty yanked at one of them, fully expecting the resistance and failure that followed. None of them would be loose enough for him to yank them free, which left him scrambling among the spaces between the spines and making small gashes.

Liberty shook himself loose, looping under Glory as the younger dragon roared and tried to snap at him. Liberty could hear the crew shouting at Glory to straighten up, trying to get the dragon to focus instead of striking out blindly, but it was obvious that Glory wasn’t listening. That was his advantage over the crew that Glory had, the dragon was young and far more bloody minded than he was.

He flipped over on his back, raking his claws against Glory’s belly before quickly righting himself. He move left him open, Liberty wincing at Glory’s wing came down on his head. His vision blurred for a moment, Liberty beating away from the other dragon and giving his head a rough shake.

It took far too long to clear his vision, Liberty looking back at Glory in time to see the dragon launch himself forward with flame and a roar.

Liberty jerked his head back, clapping his wings shut and letting himself fall backward to avoid the flames. He felt the heat lick against his chest but then he was falling away. Liberty lifted his head slightly to see the shocked expression on Glory’s face and the inelegant squawk that came from the dragon. He laughed at the sound and let himself turn head over tail in the air to get back into the proper flying position. Then he opened his wings and flew for the Helicarrier. He could hear Glory cursing behind him, but the distance was too great to cover quickly. By the time Glory caught up with him, he would be close to the Helicarrier and able to hide around the ship. Glory wouldn’t attack the Helicarrier, not with his entire crew screaming orders at him.

He glided under the Helicarrier settling himself into position under the belly of the ship. He could hear turrets turning over the whine of the engines, Liberty glancing around to pinpoint them. They were quick to swivel into position, but it gave him more than enough time to catch his breath. Liberty sucked in a few deep breaths before rolling out of the other side of the Helicarrier catching sight of Glory as the Firecracker dove under it.

His jaws opened in a smile, the expression the only thing he spared the time for. Glory would have to dodge the incoming fire, leaving Liberty clear for a moment, which meant he had time to scan the deck below him.

A flash caught his attention, Liberty turning his head to locate the bright light. He zeroed in on the bright colors of Steve’s uniform as he ran across the deck, one hand held up towards his mouth as he talked into the comms. From the direction that Steve was running, he was calling for a pick up. Liberty looked over to the other Helicarriers before cursing and diving. Steve wouldn’t be able to reach him because his comm was lying somewhere below, but he wasn’t going to let Steve go jumping off into space without someone to catch him.

Liberty flexed his talons and shook his head, trying to dispel the image of a red and gold streak plummeting down. He was close and within catching distance, which was all that mattered.

He dropped close to the deck, bouncing awkwardly on the Helicarrier. His weight wasn’t enough to send it tumbling, but it was enough to rock the deck and send the turrets firing off in the wrong direction. Better yet, it brought his belly netting into range for Steve.

His captain glanced over, seeming surprised by his appearance but he didn’t hesitate. Liberty waited until he felt a hard tug on his harness before taking to the air. He would have preferred to wait for Steve to clip in, but he could hear the turrets recalibrating themselves and the sound of Glory’s wings.

Liberty jumped off the Helicarrier, quickly beating up to get Steve above the range of the Helicarrier. He had to make his best guess since none of the SHIELD Helicarriers had ever fired on him, the dragons had always been the first line of defense. Liberty turned his head to hiss at the Helicarrier before turning his head to watch as Steve clambered up onto the side of his harness. “We good?”

Steve gave him a quick nod, jerking his head towards the next Helicarrier. Liberty followed the motion, staring at the rising ship. He couldn’t see anyone circling around, which meant that Sam and Redwing were still busy. That also meant that he wouldn’t have to deal with Amoena.

He ducked his head to try and find the Dakota when something landed heavily on his back. Liberty dropped with the roar, beating his wings wildly to keep his balance. He turned his head from side to side, looking for Steve, but his captain was already dropping away. Liberty reached down, trying to snatch Steve up when there was a blur of black and red below him.

Sam shot by beneath him, Liberty pausing long enough to see that the man had a firm hold of Steve before he turned to glare at the dragon that was trying to force him down.

He snarled up at Glory, turning his head to bite down on the closest part of Glory’s leg. The dragon roared but kept a tight hold on him, leaving Liberty to continue to bite ineffectually at Glory’s leg. The only sign that he was getting anywhere were the grunts of pain that Glory gave, but even those weren’t a victory. It wouldn’t take long for Glory to use his patience and, since they were nowhere near a Helicarrier, Glory could breathe fire without holding back. Liberty shifted his hold on Glory’s leg, trying to get it far enough back that he could crack bone.

He smelled fire as he started to apply pressure, Liberty glancing up at where Glory had arced his neck. He could see the first glow of fire from the dragon’s mouth, Liberty staring it down.

Glory jerked his head up a moment later, spraying fire up into the air. Liberty ducked his head and closed his eyes, wincing when some of the sparks rained down on his hide, but most of it fell down on Glory and his crew. Liberty could hear them shouting and screaming.

The claws in his back let go, Liberty dropping before he could open his wings. He squawked and snapped them open, ignoring the way that they knocked against Glory before shooting away from underneath him. Liberty turned his head to look over his shoulder, watching as Glorior and Redwing tumble off from Glory’s back. Glorior made a few attempts to help the struggling Firecracker before Glory knocked him away. Redwing was a little further off, but he was flying more slowly than Liberty had ever seen him.

He didn’t have the time to figure out why, Liberty turning his head in time to see the deck of the third Helicarrier coming up under him.

He hit the asphalt with a grunt, scrambling for better footing before he slammed into some of the crates that had been stacked up on the runway and skidding on his side. Liberty barreled through more of the crates before fetching up the planes that had been secured on the runway. Liberty dug his claws into one of the planes, not caring at the thin metal sheeting bent and punctured easily. It slowed his slide, allowing him to gather his legs up underneath him. Liberty turned his head towards the fragile planes, giving them an annoyed snort. Liberty knocked his side into them, sending the planes skittering to the end of their ties. A few of their wings snapped, the sound wonderfully satisfying.

Liberty turned towards the sound of beating wings, watching as Glory made a pass over the Helicarrier. The Firecracker was half twisted around to look his back, Liberty confused by the way that Glory was skewing his head from side to side like he was looking for something. He tipped his head to the side, wondering what had made Glory lose his focus when Redwing touched down on the Helicarrier.

The feral dragon was shaking one of his forelegs where Liberty could see a small burn mark. Redwing ducked his head to lick at the spot before lowering his foreleg to the ground. “I misjudged the range.”

“How badly?”

“That’s the only spot.” Redwing gave it a rueful look before leaning his weight on it. “Most of it landed on Glorior and the crew.”

Liberty craned his neck up again, watching as Glory circled above. The two of them were too good of a target to miss, but Glory wasn’t paying attention to them. The Firecracker had his head down as he scanned the river. It wasn’t until Glory gave a high pitched keen that Liberty understood.

He leaned over the side of the Helicarrier, catching sight of Glorior winging away. The Winchester looked like he was flying frightened and with a massacred harness dangling from his claws. Liberty sucked in a quick breath, looking up at where Glory was practically flying himself into a knot as he searched for his captain, but the dragon wouldn’t find him. The man was definitely dead and probably down in the river.

Liberty felt a pang of sympathy for Glory but it passed when the Firecracker whipped back around to look at the two of them. He could see the crew shifting on Glory’s back, which meant that someone had stepped up into the captain’s position. From the way that Glory was zeroing in on them, the crew member was throwing the blame their way instead of over at Glorior.

He growled and took a step forward, careful not to stand over Redwing. It was something that he would have done without question for Viatrix, but he had known her for years. For all he knew Redwing would panic and scratch his stomach to ribbons. That didn’t stop him from spreading his wing protectively over Redwing. He saw the feral dragon start out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t pay too much attention to the motion. His full attention was on Glory.

The dragon charged forward, Liberty expecting Glory to waver from side to side. It looked like the crew had managed to get Glory’s mind back to the fight, but they weren’t in too much control of the dragon. That was just in his favor. Glory was enraged and not thinking while Liberty’s mind was clear.

He took two steps forward, turning the third into a jump as he went to meet Glory. With the other dragon’s position, it was easy to catch Glory’s neck in his mouth, Liberty clamping down. Glory roared and tried to twist out of his grip, the motion sending the two of them back to the deck of the Helicarrier.

The Helicarrier rocked under their combined weight, Liberty scrambling to brace himself as the Helicarrier’s nose dipped. His hindquarters knocked against the planes again, Liberty hearing more joints snap under the weight of the two of them.

He growled around his mouthful of flesh and scales and started to push back. He felt Glory try to resist but the other dragon was partially sideways and could only get a grip with his forelegs. Glory roared in protest, flapping his wings to try and gain the air or beat Liberty back.

A screech from the side made Liberty glance to the side as Redwing launched himself among the crew. Liberty could hear the men screaming as Redwing plunged among them. He watched as Redwing snapped at the harness straps instead of the men, tearing them off from Glory’s back as Liberty held the Firecracker still.

Glory struggled in his hold for a moment, Liberty growling as the Firecracker clawed at his neck and then the dragon went still. Liberty snorted in surprise, hesitating before letting go of Glory’s neck and letting the dragon slump to the ground. He tipped his head from side to side before resting a hand on Glory’s neck, the action more of a threat than actually holding him down. He heard Glory grumble but the dragon didn’t make any more aggressive moves.

Liberty kept an eye on him, about to tell Redwing to start herding the men into some part of the Helicarrier when he heard the unfamiliar sound of a plane engine. He turned his head, hissing when he saw the plane lumber up onto the Helicarrier’s deck. The pilot didn’t even bother to bring the plane to a stop, the man rolling out of the cockpit and onto the ground. Liberty shuffled to the side to let the plane go past, jerking his head back to the man before he could see the plane crash. The sound was enough of a confirmation for him. His attention was completely focused off the glint of the arm of the man.

He took a step forward, leaving Glory to his defeated slump on the deck. “Bucky?”

The man’s head jerked up, Liberty watching the moment of hesitation before the man pulled out a gun. Liberty jerked in surprise, watching as Bucky took aim at him before he convinced himself to move.

He leapt from the deck, hearing Redwing take wing beside him. He trusted the feral dragon to stay out of his way because his attention down on Bucky. The gun was still aimed unerringly at him, but Bucky didn’t pull the trigger. He just seemed to be seeing Liberty off because he turned around abruptly, aiming at something that was rising over the edge of the Helicarrier. Liberty got a glimpse of the Sam as he hauled Steve up onto the Helicarrier before Bucky shot off one of Sam’s wings.

Sam and Steve seemed to hover in the air for a moment before the two of them dropped. Liberty watched in horror as the two of them disappeared over the side of the Helicarrier, stuck in his glide as Steve fell away from him.

Redwing was the first one to react, the dragon screaming and dropping immediately. Liberty shook himself and dropped too, his gaze locked on the red, white and blue figure that was clambering at the side of the Helicarrier. He cut in sharply, barely feeling the way that the leading edge of his wing banged against the casing for the propellers. His focus was on where Steve was tucked on the side closest to the Helicarrier. To reach his captain he had to brace himself against the Helicarrier, holding onto the body and propeller casing with his forelegs while he awkwardly flapped his wings to keep himself up in the air.

“Steve!” His captain turned to look at him, Liberty ducking his head to offer Steve the use of his muzzle. It wasn’t the most secure part of his body, but it was the only one that Steve had access to.

His heart pounded furiously as Steve pushed himself away from his handholds. Liberty turned his head to compensate for Steve’s movement. The shield banged against his lips before Steve pulled his arm away, swinging around to grab at the spines above Liberty’s eye. It meant that he wouldn’t be able to see out of that eye, but Liberty was willing to sacrifice that for Steve having a better place to hold onto.

Liberty waiting until Steve had swung all the way over his eye before lifting his head. It was a short lift up onto the deck of the Helicarrier, but Liberty felt the muscles of his neck trembling with the move. He had to move slowly and keep his head level. He could feel Steve knocking against him with every move, Liberty sure that the next one would have his captain slipping beyond where he could catch him.

He stepped up onto the deck of the Helicarrier, keeping his head low to allow Steve to hop off. He slowly eased the rest of his body up onto the deck, looking around as Steve recovered himself.

Glory was gone from the deck, Liberty snarling and lifting his head. He couldn’t see where the other Firecracker had gone, but he doubted that Glory would have headed back down to the dragon bay. If anything, Glory should have stayed with his crew, but the crew was still standing awkwardly on one part of the deck.

Bucky was gone as well. Liberty scanned the deck of the Helicarrier. He couldn’t see the flash of sun off metal that would warn him of Bucky moving through the crates and the ruined planes.

Liberty huffed and curled around Steve just as his captain finished speaking on the comms. Steve reached out to pat his face, the motion slightly distracted. “Sam’s safe. Redwing caught him. They’re on the Triskelion.”

“Will they clear out the others?”

Steve shrugged already working his way towards the door into the Helicarrier. “If one of the dragons can get up to them.”

Liberty swung his head towards the building, rocking towards it. He had been the one to bring them in so it was his responsibility to bring them out, but he didn’t want to leave Steve on his own. Glory might just be biding his time until he saw Steve. It wouldn’t be unheard of for Glory to try and attack Steve in return for his own dead captain, and Liberty couldn’t let that happen. And then there was Bucky to consider. He wasn’t just going to fly off and leave Bucky when there was a chance of saving him, even if it meant that he would be carrying Bucky away.

He gave the Helicarrier’s deck one last scan before starting to prowl along its length. He would give it one more check before going below to circle the glass bulb that Steve would be working in.

* * *

He had been briefed on the dragon. His handlers had told him the size and that it was a fire breather, but they had stressed that they would be able to keep him away. After all, he was being sent after the dragon’s captain, and there was nothing more dangerous than coming between a dragon and their captain. That was common knowledge, something that lingered at the back of his mind no matter how many times he was sent under.

All of their briefings hadn’t prepared him for what would happen when he opened fire on the dragon’s captain. He had seen plenty of enraged dragons, but they had always been coming from a distance, and they had never been heading for him.

He was suddenly aware of how fragile the glass really was when the dragon crashed through it, roaring and sparks dropping from its mouth.

He backed up quickly, finding a secure place on one of the steel beams. He automatically went through the motions of making sure that his gun was ready to go as he watched the dragon writhe in the hole that it had made itself. He could see where the glass was digging through the dragon’s scales, but it looked like the dragon didn’t feel the pain. Its head was moving back and forth between where he was standing and where his captain was trying to making his way back to the core.

He frowned and lined up a shot at the dragon, glancing at the creature’s face before aiming for the eye. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to put the dragon down easily with one shot. He had heard that there were animals that would just keep charging even if they were fatally injured. Their rage was enough to carry them through whatever injury they had taken. He would have to fire multiple times and then move, because he wasn’t sure that the dragon would just stop.

Then again, the captain was starting to get back up to the walkway. Dealing with the dragon might just give the captain enough time to wreck the ship. He wasn’t sure what the ship had to do, but he had been told to defend it at all costs. The captain dying might be enough of a distraction for him to take the killing shot. Besides, the dragon was still mostly stuck. It still had to haul its wings out of the hole it had made.

He made up his mind, pivoting slightly to line up the shot for the captain. It was easy with the way that the man was standing in front of the core. He saw the man’s shoulder jerk as he fiddled with the machinery in there. He fired without a second thought, watching as the man jerked forward and fell against the core.

The dragon went silent. It took him a moment to realize it and he wasted precious time pivoting to look at the dragon again.

It had gone still, staring at where its captain had fallen. But the stillness only lasted for a blink of an eye. Then it was back in motion again. It hauled its hindquarters up through the hole with a roar that shook him to his bones. He fumbled with his pistol before he managed to train it on the dragon again.

The creature braced itself on the steel struts, the whole structure groaning under its weight. The dragon didn’t seem to hear the sound, it was too busy turning and lowering its head.

He expected it to breathe fire at him, but the dragon just roared again. Its jaws opened wide, giving him the time to reach up and grab the upper jaw with his right hand and the lower jaw with its left. He braced himself as best as he could, feeling the muscles in the jaws working. He was able to slow it down, but the jaws started inching closed.

He gritted his teeth and leaned into the hold, finding himself staring down the back of the dragon’s throat. He watched the muscles at the back of the throat working, a shiver running down his spine when he realized that the dragon could still breathe fire on him. It was probably the better position to do so because he would have nowhere to dodge in time.

He shoved back against the dragon’s jaws, surprised when the dragon jerked its head away. The dragon shook its head, working its jaw even as it swiped at him. He stumbled off the beam he was on, cursing when one of the dragon’s claws caught his jacket. He let the section tear away, his hand dropping to check for blood. His fingers came away clean, but he still rubbed them together like he couldn’t quite believe that the dragon had missed.

Everything that the creature had done seemed half-hearted, even when its captain had gone down. He had felt the strength in the dragon’s jaws but it hadn’t closed on him, nor had the dragon breathed fire. There had been plenty of chances for the creature to get at him, but it seemed to be more cautious than anything else. He wanted to wave it off as the unsure footing, but there was something that nagged at him.

He had always dreamed of dragons.

The ship shook under his feet, making him stumble and try to regain his footing. He jerked his head up, staring at where the captain was slumped against the core, but he had moved. One of the trays was out too, meaning that he had succeeded in putting the chip they had been fighting over in.

The dragon had seemed to have noticed too, because it was making its way over to where its captain was slumped against the core. The dragon rocked up onto its hind legs, bracing itself on the structure as it leaned towards its captain.

He fumbled for his pistol, ready to fire on the dragon. Neither it nor its captain could leave, he had his orders. The two of them were his mission.

The ship shook again, this one accompanied by a deep rumble that he could feel through the glass and the beams. He backed away from the center walkway, glancing around at the long groan that came from the structure. Portions of it were shaking dangerously. He took another step back, trying to plot out a route that would get him up to the walkway and in range of the captain and his dragon when a beam gave way with a loud groan.

He stared up at the beams as they tumbled towards him, the arrangement blurring into a train and the vague shape of a dragon before they slammed into him. He screamed as the full weight fell on him, scrambling at the steel for a better hold. He braced his back against the glass and shoved at the beams, hearing the glass crack beneath him. The sound was almost enough to get him to stop, but he could hear the sound of guns going off and the tell-tale creaking of other parts of the structure. If he didn’t get the beams off of him then more would just pile up and the glass would definitely break.

He shifted his hands to make another attempt when there was a shout from the walkway. “Bucky!”

He turned his head to stare at the dragon, surprised to see that it was worried. The dragon looked between him and its captain before reaching its neck out to gently pluck its captain from the walkway. The man was limp in the dragon’s hold, but the man wasn’t dead, the captain just seemed to trust his dragon completely.

The man did start moving when he was close to the ground, the dragon settling him carefully on his feet. The man’s arm immediately went across his stomach, staunching the wound as he looked over the situation. It didn’t take him long to come to a conclusion because he gestured back towards the dragon. “Liberty, take that side.”

“I can lift it. You’re hurt.”

“You can’t brace yourself here.”

That was apparently the final word because the dragon picked his way through the mess to the other side. He turned to watch the dragon go, deciding to watch the more dangerous of the two. The dragon didn’t give him another look, instead grabbing onto the steel and starting to heave upwards. Its wings flapped as it started to pull up, but the dragon didn’t rise from the ground.

A grunt from close by made him turn his head to watch the captain, surprised that the man had ducked under a portion of the beam and was raising it up.

None of it made any sense. Briefings and training had never covered what to do because he had never shot at someone that didn’t go down. He had never needed to be saved by the person he had been sent to kill. He set his hands against the beam and started to push, it was easier to do that than to think about what had gone wrong.

The beam started to shift, the dragon quick to take up the brunt of it and start hauling it away. He watched as it inched down his body. He was quick to slip out from under it as soon as he legs was free.

He stumbled away from the two of them, looking between them as he tried to figure out who would move first. To his surprise, neither of them did. The captain remained staring at him while the dragon tossed the steel beam aside. The throw made the glass underneath it crack, the dragon quickly stepping closer to the hole that it had made. It made a strangely strangled sound, one that he couldn’t quite figure out the meaning of. He looked over at its captain, hoping for a clue.

The captain wasn’t much more help, the man had the same crestfallen expression that had greeting him when he had chased after the man. “You know me.”

He tensed at the words, staring at the man. He vaguely remembered another conversation, one that was almost more like his dragon dreams than anything that had really happened to him. The incongruity made him want to lean back on his orders more, because those were sure things. Orders were easier.

Orders meant the pain would stop.

He curled his hands into fists, giving the dragon one last look before lunging for the captain. “No I don’t!”

* * *

Liberty hadn’t been thinking when he had hauled himself into the glass dome, he had just seen Bucky firing at Steve and had lost his mind. For a moment, he had forgotten that it was Bucky and he had just reacted to his captain in danger. Now he was stuck in the dome with the Helicarrier under fire with no real way out.

He tried to brace himself on the steel beams when the Helicarrier rocked under the barrage. He wasn’t able to get a good grip on the beams because they were thinner than his feet. Liberty tried to curl his talons around them, but the heavy rocking of the Helicarrier made it impossible. One of his back legs slipped off, Liberty quickly yanking it back before it fell through the glass. Liberty turned his head in time to watch the panel and the three on either side of it shatter and fall away. He spread his wings to try and balance himself out but his left one had to stay partially folded. Liberty jerked his head back to try and balance himself, but his tail was curled awkwardly to cram all thirty feet of him into the space.

He shifted his hold on the steel beams, whipping his head around when he heard a loud grunt. Liberty’s eyes widened as he saw Steve pressed back against the crumbling glass as Bucky beat him. He stretched out his neck, hissing when he couldn’t reach the two of them. He spared a glace for his footing before moving forward, trying to rest most of his weight on steel instead of glass.

Bucky seemed insensible to the sound of the Helicarrier under fire and the glass cracking under Liberty’s weight. His whole focus was on beating Steve into the glass and steel while Steve didn’t fight back. The two of them were so close that Liberty didn’t think that he could get between them. He would catch someone on his claws and injuring either of them because of what was happening. The best way to get to them would be to lift Bucky off.

Liberty sucked in a quick breath, trying to inflate his air sacs as much as possible when he took his neck step. It brought him into range to reach down and grab onto the back of Bucky’s jacket. What he would do once he had grabbed onto Bucky he didn’t know, but it would at least put distance between Steve and Bucky. It would be hard to scoop Steve up with his cramped position in the dome, but he would try it.

He shifted slightly, taking advantage of the way that Bucky had stopped his assault. It would be easy enough to snap up Bucky while he was still. The leather of Bucky’s jacket would be thick enough to protect the human from his teeth, or so he hoped. He took a cautious step forward, the glass and steel bending under him before dropping away.

Liberty roared as he fell, too shocked for to open his wings for a moment. He could only stare up at the Helicarrier above him, his gaze darting from the fires and destruction on the deck to where Steve and Bucky were still in the crumbling glass dome.

He wallowed in the air, Liberty twisting and turning around himself to try and get around the debris that were falling with him. Liberty clawed a bent beam out of his way to finally open his wings.

The sudden snap of them opening made his shoulders ache, but Liberty ignored the pain. He turned so he could bank in a circle to slow his fall. He used the chance to look up at the Helicarrier, spotting Steve draped halfway off one of the beams. Liberty grunted and beat up, the approach made more complicated by the debris that were falling off the ship. He spared a glance towards where the Helicarrier was heading, watching as it plowed into the Triskelion. From what he could see, only two of the engines were still firing, but that was enough to keep it moving forward. He didn’t have much time to reach the two of them before back of the Helicarrier crashed into the building.

Liberty flapped hard, only bothering to dodge the largest pieces of debris. He stretched his neck out, intending to grab the two of them in his mouth when the beam that they were on cracked and fell. Bucky was quick to move out of the way but Steve just slipped from the beam. He roared and made a desperate lunge for Steve but he couldn’t cover the distance between them fast enough. He knocked up against the broken end of the beam and then Steve was gone.

He turned quickly, kicking the beam away from him as he tucked his wings back against his side. Liberty dove after Steve, not taking his gaze away from his captain even as more wreckage from the Helicarrier pattered around him. He was close to Steve, but not close enough to dare to reach out. He needed to be as aerodynamic as possible to cover the distance, just as long as he was close enough to grab his captain.

He wouldn’t let Steve fall away from his like Bucky had, like Tony had. He wasn’t going to fail any of his crew again.

A beam slammed against the side of his neck, Liberty automatically jerking his head away to keep his eye clear. It only took a second but he lost sight of Steve and then he was slamming into the water.

Liberty clawed his way to the surface, coughing as soon as he cleared it. He turned his head from side to side, watching as debris made ripples in the water, making it impossible for him to tell where Steve had fallen into the water.

A whine worked its way from the back of his throat, Liberty desperately trying to keep it in as he swam through the river. Steve couldn’t have landed too far away from him, all he had to do was find him in the muddy waters of the Potomac. Liberty took a deep breath, some part of the panicked noise escaping him before he clamped his jaws shut and dove under the surface.

He slid his second eyelid over his eyes, turning the murky darkness to blurry, murky darkness. Liberty turned his head from side to side, trying to pick out a human form in all the blurs that were falling into the water constantly. He nosed his way through pieces of metal, trying to use his muzzle instead of his claws in case he ran across Steve. His captain was already hurt, he didn’t want to rip Steve apart while he was underwater.

Liberty stayed under until his lungs hurt. He planted his hind legs and stretched his neck up until his nose cleared the surface. He took a deep breath and ducked back down, continuing his slow search of the river bottom.

His muzzle kept bumping against metal and pieces of airplanes, having to bob up to the surface two more times before he knocked against something familiar. Even in the water he could feel the vibrations of the shield as he moved over it. Liberty turned his head, knocking his muzzle against it just to be sure. The steady vibrations came again, Liberty quickly grabbing the edge of the shield. He couldn’t remember if Steve had been holding it when he had fallen, but Steve couldn’t be too far from it.

It was hard to tuck the shield into place in his harness when there wasn’t much room underwater, but Liberty couldn’t think of a safer place for it. When he found Steve, his captain would want the shield. The Helicarriers were destroyed but there was no guarantee that Hydra was done for.

Liberty had to bob up to the surface again. He used a slightly upright piece of metal to clamber onto, bringing his head out of the water and taking deep, gasping breaths. Liberty ducked his head to make sure that the shield was in place before turning slightly.

If Steve had gone under, he should have been up on the surface by now, unless he was unconscious. Liberty whimpered and scanned the surface, about to duck back under when he saw a dark head bobbing closer to shore. He braced himself against the metal to stretch his neck out further.

The person went under for a moment and then they reappeared, Liberty sucking in a quick breath when he saw that they were dragging Steve out of the water.

He jumped from the metal, hearing it creak dangerously under his weight, but he ignored the sound. Liberty spread his wings and flew to the shore. He kept his head low, watching as Bucky looked up at him as he flew over. Bucky slowed down, Liberty seeing some of the plates on Bucky’s arm shift as the man stared at him, but his facial expression didn’t give him any clues to what Bucky was thinking.

Liberty turned for an awkward landing, his wing tip clipping the trees as he came down. He jerked the wing back in, finishing the turn on foot. By then, Bucky had finished dragging Steve onto shore. Bucky looked back at him, dropping Steve to the ground before taking a step back. It was an obvious retreat, but it didn’t stop Liberty from watching Bucky carefully. It was Bucky, he knew that down to his bones, but he wasn’t stupid enough to forget to watch for a knife.

He took a slow step forward, watching Bucky for any sudden moves. The man just stood still, Liberty giving into the worry that was bubbling in his chest. He covered the distance between him and Steve in one step, lowering his head to nudge Steve’s side. He could still smell blood on Steve, some of the bullet wounds still bleeding sluggishly. The wounds weren’t too worrying, not when he could see Steve’s chest rising and falling as he breathed.

Liberty sighed and turned his head to rest the side of his muzzle against Steve’s cheek. From there he could feel each puff of breath against his scales. Liberty lingered there for a moment before lifting his head up.

Bucky was still standing on the other side of Steve, the blank look still on his face. Liberty would have thought that Bucky still wanted to try and kill Steve, but he had had every chance. He could have let Steve drown, but he had hauled him from the water. Liberty tipped his head to the side, studying Bucky for a moment before stretching out his muzzle.

Bucky stared at the offering, Liberty hearing the metal of his arm click as it moved. It lifted slightly from Bucky’s side before he dropped it back. Liberty watched the motion, surprised when Bucky immediately reached out with his right hand. Bucky didn’t completely cover the distance between them, but Liberty was more than happy to press his muzzle against Bucky’s hand.

Bucky tensed at the move, staring at him with wide eyes, but he didn’t move his hand. Liberty didn’t know if that meant that Bucky remembered him, but it was better than immediately attacking him. Liberty gave a pleased rumble and closed his eyes. When Bucky didn’t move, he leaned into the touch a little further.

That seemed to be the final straw because Bucky jerked his hand away and stepped back. Liberty opened his eyes, watching as Bucky backed away from them.

He took a careful step over Steve, trying to cover the distance between them. Bucky gave a sharp shake of his head and turned his back on them.

“Bucky…”

The man’s shoulders tensed and he walked away faster. Liberty whined and took a few steps forward before he stopped himself.

He wanted to chase after Bucky, but that would mean leaving Steve where he was. Healing factor or not, Steve was in trouble and he couldn’t leave Steve. But there were things that he had to make up to Bucky; seventy years of leaving him behind, of burying him when he had been alive. Bucky was _his_ , and he was choosing to walk away.

Another whimper worked his way up through his throat, turning into a keen. He saw Bucky hesitate at the sound, but the pause didn’t last long. Bucky hunched his shoulders and walked off.

Liberty stared after him, swaying over Steve before giving up. There was no way of getting Bucky back save for physically picking the man up, but there was no guarantee that Bucky would stay. There was nothing to do but to look after Steve.

He glanced at Bucky one last time before backing up two paces. He studied Steve, marking off where the bullet wounds were before flipping one of his hands over. Using his muzzle, he carefully nudged Steve into his open hand, freezing every time Steve made a sound. He found himself crooning back, not sure if Steve really heard him. He kept up the gentle nudges until Steve was safe in the center of his hand, checking his captain to make sure that he hadn’t aggravated any of Steve’s injuries. It was hard to tell through the smell of blood, but it wasn’t soaking through the uniform like it had been.

Liberty rocked back onto his hindquarters, throwing one last look at where Bucky was walking off into the forest before launching himself into the air.

* * *

Brock jerked awake with a gasp, every muscle ready to shove him up and out of the door. He tried to move, but stopped at the pain that ran through his body. He cursed and slumped back against the pillow, looking around the room.

The last thing he remembered was the Helicarrier crashing into the Triskelion and then the sharp pain from fire and metal crushing him. After that it was just short glimpses of people and places, but nothing that added up to a hospital room. Still, it was easy enough to figure out what had happened. Obviously someone had pulled him from the wreckage and had taken him to the hospital. He wouldn’t have been surprised if there were other SHIELD and Hydra agents throughout the hospital. What worried him was the fact that there had to be someone who would be on the lookout for anyone from Hydra.

He gritted his teeth and started to move slowly. Every muscle and bone in his body protested the move, but he had no other choice. He was not going to survive a run in with a Helicarrier only to get carted off to jail. There were still plenty of cells that would be operating. Captain America might have managed to cut off a few heads, but he certainly hadn’t managed to kill them all. The others cells would probably be floundering with the lack of a central organization, but that was the perfect time to slip into them. If he got away then he could disappear.

Brock eased himself to the side of the bed, grabbing onto the IV stand for balance. He paused to suck in deep breaths, feeling them catch a bit in his chest. He leaned over and coughed, trying to clear his lungs. His running would have to be slow and methodical, but at least it would be motion.

He inched further off the bed, ready to shove himself off when he heard something moving outside the window. Brock lifted his head, having to twist it slightly further to the left to see out of the eye that wasn’t bandaged over. It took him even longer to focus on the thing outside the window, the blurry movement resolving itself into the shape of a dragon.

The dragon didn’t seem to be threatening, it was just resting its head on the ledge made for that purpose. Brock estimated the size as about a middleweight because of the size of its head and the fact that any smaller dragon would be able to perch on the ledge. The coloration of the dragon’s scales made him freeze, Brock trying to figure out how to make his tight and aching face into something like a smile. “Liberty.”

The dragon snorted and lifted his head, clearly insulted. Brock leaned back on the bed, not sure what he could do in the face of an insulted dragon. The nearest weapon at had was his IV stand and he still needed it to hold himself up. He adjusted his grip on the stand, ready to swing if the dragon tried to get at him.

The dragon didn’t seem to notice his small adjustments. It just leveled a steady glare at him before lowering its head back down. “If he were here, then you would be torn to shreds already.”

Brock stared at the dragon, tacking in the narrower muzzle and the pattern of stripes. He had never paid much attention to the dragons save for Liberty, and that had been simply because he had been assigned to the dragon. Brock preferred to keep his feet firmly on the ground unless he had no other choice. To make things worse, SHIELD had seen fit to bring in three Firecrackers. But this one sounded male, so he could narrow it down a bit further. “Blaze of Glory?”

The dragon inclined his head slightly in a nod. “Satisfied? Now get back into bed.”

“Why?”

Glory watched him carefully for a moment before shifting his muzzle closer to the door. Brock rocked forward, shoving the IV stand in front of him in defense.

That seemed to amuse the dragon because Brock saw Glory’s mouth gape open for a moment before the dragon started speaking in a low voice. The whisper was still loud enough to echo slightly in the closed room, but Brock assumed that it was as quiet as a dragon Glory’s size could get. “Because you’re booked in as my captain. Our crew turned on us while we were defending SHIELD and we were caught in the crossfire while taking down the Helicarriers.”

The explanation started a laugh out of Brock. “And they believed it?”

“Why not? Dragons don’t lie.” The draconic smile was back again. “That’s a lie that you humans tell yourselves.”

Brock nodded and started to ease himself back into the bed. It wasn’t trust that allowed that surrender, it was the fact that he ached too much to remain sitting upright. He groaned as he settled back into the pillows. As soon as everything went from being in horrible pain to something just on the edge of beyond bearable, Brock turned his head to look at where Glory was settling his head down on the edge.

Glory was right about one thing, most humans believed that dragons couldn’t lie. Then again, most people didn’t realize how much dragons picked up from being around people.

He watched as the dragon went back to dozing, considering the creature. The fact that the dragon had lied was enough to make him wary, but it was obvious that Glory had stuck close to his side since he had gotten into the hospital. That alone would sell the story that he was Glory’s captain but it made him wonder why Glory would spent so much time with him in the first place, unless there was no other option.

Brock drummed his fingers against the sheets, stopping when it got too painful. He must have made some noise because, when he looked over at Glory, the dragon’s eyes were open. Brock gave Glory a slow nod. “You never answered my question. Why are you doing this?”

Glory’s upper lip curled back for a moment before the dragon seemed to remember himself. The dragon went suspiciously still for a moment before he rumbled out a single word.

“Revenge.”

* * *

Sam wasn’t surprised to see Steve up and around when he walked back into the hospital room. Steve had almost been ready to climb out of bed ten minutes after he had woken up. Sam had had his hands full keeping Steve in bed instead of over by the window talking to Liberty. It had only been when he had pointed out that they had just gotten the Firecracker to calm down that Steve had agreed to stay in bed. Apparently that agreement had only lasted until Sam had left the room.

He leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb, watching as Steve leaned out the window, obviously talking to the dragons in the courtyard below. Sam sipped at his coffee, making a face at how bitter it was. Then again, it was the only thing that was keeping him awake at the moment. He took another sip to fortify himself before walking completely into the room. “I should have gotten that agreement from you in writing.”

Steve didn’t jump at his words, but Sam assumed that Steve had known when he had entered the room. He was sure that he was right by the way that Steve gave him a slightly guilty look.

Steve stepped away from the window. “I wanted to check on him. You said that they pulled glass out of him and I wanted to be sure that he was fine.”

“So you think we’d let him bleed out?” Sam shook his head and walked over to the windows, taking the chance to leave his coffee on the table just underneath the windows. He looked out the window into the courtyard, looking over the dragons that were all curled in the space.

Most of the space was taken up by Liberty and one other lightweight. The rest of the dragons were smaller and perched on the window ledges. Redwing had taken possession of their ledge, the dragon draped over it and fast asleep. Sam was more than willing to let him stay in place, especially after all the flying that Redwing had done the day before.

Redwing might have lived a hardscrabble life before, but he had never had to fight a prolonged battle. Most of the feral dragons tended to run before there was any fighting. Certainly compared to the other courier weight dragons around the hospital, Redwing looked skinnier and stunted. But none of that had stopped him from getting the job done. Redwing had even hauled his ass all the way to the Triskelion when one of the EXO-7’s wings had been ripped off.

Sam walked over to the sliding glass door, crouching down so he could run his hand over Redwing’s neck. The dragon stirred slightly, Redwing opening one eye to look at him before grumbling and going back to sleep. Sam laughed and dropped down onto the floor, looking back over at Steve. “And your verdict?”

“You did a good job.”

“Yeah, I’ll pass that along to your nurse. Liberty’s a stubborn son of a bitch and wouldn’t move.” Sam heard a grumble from below, probably an argument from Liberty. Sam didn’t bother to look out to check. “And it took Natasha to calm him down.”

“Really?”

“She threatened to call Tony Stark.”

Steve laughed, one hand dropping to rest over his stomach. “That would do it. You hear that?”

Liberty didn’t answer the question, but his silence was enough.

Steve seemed satisfied enough by that because he shuffled back over to the bed. He moved more gingerly than Sam had expected, the motion making him watch Steve with concern. “Do we have to tie you down?”

“No. Everything’s fine.”

“Need something?”

Steve shook his head. “No. Painkillers don’t last too long. I just have to wait for the serum to catch up.”

“Damn. That must be something.”

“Part and parcel of the package.”

“It’s a wonder you lasted this long.”

Steve made a sound that could have been a laugh, but there was an edge of pain to it. Sam watched Steve carefully as the man lowered himself back onto the bed. He decided to leave it when Liberty didn’t immediately lift his head up to peer in. If anyone knew the warning signs, it would be Steve’s dragon. He still leaned over to look down at where Liberty was resting, but Redwing arrested his motion part of the way through. The dragon dropped his head onto Sam’s lap with a sigh, Sam taking the hint to scratch along the top of Redwing’s head.

When he glanced back over at the bed, Steve had managed to set himself down onto it. Steve was still easing himself into place, seeming to be taking care of the wound in his stomach, not that Sam was surprised. Out of all of them, it had been the worst, although Steve was walking around like it wasn’t a big deal. It was probably the serum, there were plenty of warnings about that plastered all over Steve’s chart although Sam wasn’t sure what any of them meant. From some of the shocked looks that the nurses had given, they didn’t quite know the extent of what to do either.

Steve finally settled back with a groan, his hand still resting on his stomach. He kept it there for a moment before letting it drop back to the side. “Hydra was a little easier to punch back in my day.”

“Only a little bit?”

Steve raised one shoulder in a shrug. “They got smarter.”

“People do that.” Sam let his head fall back against the wall. “They probably have a Steve Rogers contingency plan.”

“If that was it then I take it back. Hydra got worse.”

Sam laughed, the sound turning into a grunt when Redwing nudged his muzzle into Sam’s stomach. He pushed the dragon’s muzzle away, going back to stroking Redwing’s head. It was a relief to laugh, if only because they had managed to make it out the other side.

He had expected to have something go catastrophically wrong, but they had all made it out alive. Natasha had said something about committees and investigations, but those were so far above his head that Sam had decided to ignore them. He doubted that anyone would pull him in for his part, especially when he wasn’t registered with SHIELD. Then again, all it would take was a quick check of his records to figure out who had been using the wings.

Steve might not have the same luck considering the government would want to hear from Captain America about the Hydra situation. Although, Sam couldn't imagine anyone storming into Steve’s room and demanding a debrief, especially when Liberty didn’t show any inclination to move from underneath Steve’s window. Sam couldn’t remember the last politician that could stand up to a dragon’s anger, especially since the dragon politicians would have the sense to wait until Steve had recovered.

He looked down at the top of Redwing’s head, tracing out a few of the larger scales there. Redwing rumbled something that sounded like approval before he resumed his soft snoring. Sam drummed his fingers against the top of Redwing’s head before stilling his hand and letting it just rest on top of the dragon’s head.

“So, what’s next on our list? Is there a country to liberate or children to rescue?”

“No. It’s mostly sitting out all the paperwork.” Steve rolled to his side, propping himself up to peer down into the courtyard. “Long term, we’re going to look for Bucky.”

“The guy that tried to kill you.”

“He’s my friend.”

“Yes, but you’re not selling this to me.” Sam shifted, carefully to transfer Redwing’s head to the floor. “The two of you can go toe to toe no problem, but if he rips off my wing again we’re going to have to have words.”

“You’ve done enough Sam.”

“But the job’s not done, right? We’ve beaten Hydra, so now we find Bucky. You and Liberty can’t search the entire world by yourselves. I have contacts.” There were plenty of people that he could reach out to, although how he would explain exactly what he was looking for was something that he would have to work out later. Sam was sure that half of them would laugh him out of the room if he said that he was looking for Bucky. The other half would just point him to some ravine in the Alps and tell him to start looking.

He shrugged and looked back at Steve. “Besides, I need to return those wings to the base and I don’t want to do that when they’re missing a wing. I’m angling for a favor here.”

Steve smiled and shook his head. “It’s a Stark right? Take it to Tony. He’ll take care of it. You might have to make sure that he doesn’t make any upgrades to it. The last time we were up there, he wanted to do uniform upgrades.”

“I’ll take an upgrade, but I’ll have to give back the first one in the same condition. I don’t think telling them that I used it to take down Hydra will fly.”

“We’ll drop it off when we go up there.”

Sam glanced over at Steve. “So you’re going back to New York?”

“Well, Liberty probably won’t calm down until we check back in at Stark Tower. Besides, DC isn’t really my style.”

“Oh, so you come in, wreck my town and just leave. I see how it is.”

“I’ll put in a good word to Stark for you.”

“You’d better. I feel used.” Sam stood up, reaching around to rub his back. It had been long enough that he had forgotten the way that the pack had weighed on his back. Even the uncomfortable hospital chair was looking good with the nagging ache there.

He glanced down at Redwing, watching as the dragon turned his head slightly, but he didn’t wake up. Redwing seemed perfectly happy to nap partially inside the room.

Sam didn’t know how long Redwing would be happy to stay near the hospital. The little dragon seemed content enough to stay close to Liberty, but whether that was because he assumed that Sam would be hanging around or because he actually liked Liberty. It had been a long time since Redwing had sought out the company of other dragons of his own volition. Sam had been willing to chalk it up to habit of avoiding larger dragons and almost every dragon in the area was larger than him. But Sam had never seen Redwing willing to nap on another dragon’s back, but he had spent the first few hours that Steve had been asleep for curled on Liberty’s back.

He watched Redwing’s claws twitch a bit in his sleep, shaking his head. “We’ll just have to go up there and return the favor someday.”

“Just don’t touch the tower. Tony’s very attached to it.”

“I’ll think about it.” Sam walked over to the door, pausing just before opening it. “Need anything?”

“Want to try and sneak me out?”

Sam shook his head immediately. “Nope. I’m not dealing with that problem. You can talk yourself out of that.”

Steve huffed, Sam sure that he could hear Liberty chuckling in the courtyard below. He gave Steve a lazy wave before walking out of the room.

* * *

Liberty crouched on the balcony of Stark Tower, watching as Natasha and Steve slide down his shoulder. Natasha did so with her usual ease, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she came down.

Steve was more careful in coming down, Liberty watching him closely. He knew better than to try and help Steve, because Steve wouldn’t take it unless he had no other choice. As far as Steve was concerned, he was fine, but Liberty could see the way that Steve moved that some places were still tender. Liberty had tried to keep his nosing to Steve’s back and sides because Steve always flinched away when Liberty approached from the front.

He watched as Steve took a few stiff steps before rubbing his fist into the small of his back. Liberty was tempted to stretch his neck out and press his muzzle there, but Steve was already moving away. Liberty sighed and stared down at the balcony.

Tony had changed a few things about the balcony since the last time he had been at the tower. It felt sturdier than before and Liberty couldn’t feel as much bounce in it. He was tempted to bounce on it to test how far it would go but he didn’t dare when there were people still on it.

From what he could see, it looked like everyone in residence at the tower had come out to see them. Bruce was standing back towards the doors, the man giving him an even nod when Liberty caught his gaze. He returned the nod, but his attention wandered over to the two people that he had most wanted to see. Tony was waiting midway between the door and where he was crouched on the platform, while Clint had walked up to hug Natasha. Liberty noticed how the hug lingered. The two of the whispered to each other before Natasha walked into the tower.

Liberty lifted his head to watch as Natasha walked into the common room before he focused on Clint. He tipped his head from side to side, looking for any sign of lingering injury from his ordeal with Loki. There was a bit of a pinched look around his mouth, but it was better than the last time he had seen Clint.

He still lowered his head carefully, trying not to look like a threat as Clint approached. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Clint reached out to pat Liberty’s muzzle, his hand lingering on the top of it. “Been taking care of yourself?”

“Fighting Hydra keeps me looking young.”

Clint laughed, slapping the top of his muzzle. “You just wanted to keep all of that action to yourself.”

Liberty grumbled instead of answering. He would have preferred if the others had come down. It would have been nice to have more backup than just Sam and Redwing, maybe they would have been able to secure the dragon bay before Dejudicavi had been shot or Glory had gotten the chance to escape.

Liberty had spent the few days that Steve had been packing up his apartment scouring the area for the Firecracker. They had managed to secure Glorior and Amoena, but Glory had been the one to slip through. It was enough to make Liberty want to growl and take off on another search, but he had no idea where the Firecracker had gone. The Hydra files might have been out in the public, but the SHIELD files were still classified and Liberty was sure that the government would hold tightly to those.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them again. Clint had moved up in that time, the man standing in front of his eye. “What happened down there?”

“SHIELD’s down.”

“I heard about that, but that isn’t it. What happened down there?”

Liberty shook his head. “Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“You’re a horrible liar.” Clint flicked his muzzle, the touch so light that Liberty barely felt it. He lifted his lip, baring his teeth halfheartedly. Clint knew him too well to be worried, the man just patted him again. “Tony was worried enough to call me. That’s a problem.”

“He interrupted your vacation?”

“He saved me from babysitting on a Friday night, but don’t tell him that. I want him to believe that he owes me. I have my eye on a few new arrows.”

Liberty gave him a knowing look before nudging him away. “I’ll have to visit one day.”

Clint shrugged and walked off, Liberty taking that as his answer. That was always Clint’s answer when he asked about his niece and nephew. Liberty didn’t know if Clint was just protecting his family or if the children didn’t want to meet a dragon. The latter was always an option, Liberty had gotten plenty of fussy babies and crying children foisted upon him by fawning parents. He was never more aware of his size when he had a child standing nearby.

He rose out of his crouch, taking the one step that took him over to where Steve and Tony were talking. Liberty lowered his head to look at the two of them, watching as Tony’s shoulders relaxed at his presence. Tony didn’t reach out to pet him, but Liberty didn’t mind, it was enough to look over Tony.

Tony had oil of some kind in his hair and smelled like he hadn’t taken a shower in a few days, a sure sign that he had been working in the lab. Liberty hummed and bumped the side of the muzzle lightly against Tony, feeling the man sway back against him. Tony reached out to steady himself against Liberty’s face, the motion turning into an absent pet. “Are you going to actually stay in your room this time or will I have to deal with the shame of having Captain America crash on my couch?”

“I don’t know, that’s up to Liberty.” Steve turned to look at him, Liberty surprised by the change in conversation.

He had never expected them to stay anywhere else once they had gotten back to New York. The SHIELD covert was still in place, but only because everyone was still reeling from the loss of SHIELD. It might last until the end of the week, but then it would be shut down and the dragons there would have to find another place to work. Liberty turned his head slightly to look in the direction of the covert. He would have to ask Tony to consider taking Viatrix and Fergal on for his company, they were two dragons that he was willing to trust and both of them were considered too old for Air Force work. He didn’t know what he could do for the other SHIELD dragons, but most of them were young enough that they could easily be absorbed into any other company.

The end of his tail twitched as he considered what Steve had sad before he nodded slowly. “It’s nice here. Roomy with a good view.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him. “You have a dragon penthouse and all I get is a good view.”

Liberty nodded. “There are a lot of tall buildings.”

“There’s no pleasing you.” Tony rounded on Steve. “I blame you. You spoiled him.”

“ _I_ spoiled him.” Steve looked like he was trying not to laugh but his shoulders were twitching.

“Yes, you spoiled him. Now I have to reteach him good humor, which is going to be impossible with Clint around.”

Liberty huffed and nudged Tony hard enough to make the man stumble. Tony reached back to shove his muzzle away, not really putting any effort into the motion. Liberty leaned hard against Tony, letting the man rock back and forth with his attempts as Steve watched the two of them.

Steve shook his head and started walking back to the tower, his shoulders held suspiciously still. Tony and Liberty watched him go, Tony continuing to lean into Liberty’s muzzle for a moment longer before pushing away. “If he falls asleep on the couch you are obligated to leave him on the floor outside the lab.”

“No promises.”

“He has a whole floor.”

“Why can’t it be my floor?” Liberty tried to look as innocent as possible, chuckling when Tony shook his head slowly. He apologized by curling his claws around Tony and pulling the man close to his muzzle.

Tony let himself be held for a moment before he wiggled out of Liberty’s hold. “Alright. It’s your floor.”

Liberty rumbled happily and trailed after Tony. It was an exercise in restraint to keep himself from keeping his muzzle pressed against Tony’s back. It should have been enough to see Bruce, Tony and Clint alive and well, but it didn’t help him from thinking about what could have happened. When they had first found out about how far Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD his first instinct had been to fly back and grab the three of them to keep them safe. Leaving them had kept them safe, but Liberty couldn’t be sure about that.

He stepped around Tony, blocking his way with a leg. Liberty glanced up at where Steve was walking ahead of him. His captain paused by the door, Liberty nodding him onward. Steve hesitated for a moment before stepping into the tower, his captain lingering in the pit built into the floor for him. His captain probably wanted to do his usual post-flight check and Liberty had no problem with that, but checking in with Tony was more important.

Liberty lowered his head, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible as spoke. “Tony, did Hydra come here?”

“No. Should we expect them?”

Liberty shook his head. “I don’t think they would try, not anymore. But I have to know if they did anything.”

Tony shook his head. “I just got a call saying that the two of had gone MIA. It was suspicious enough for me to call in Clint from…wherever he disappeared to.”

Liberty growled, quickly quelling the sound when Steve looked his way from the tower. He was glad when Tony waved Steve off, the man turning to face him completely. Liberty wanted to shake his head and tell Tony to forget it, he could easily brush it off as worry about the people that he considered his and Tony would believe it. But then he would be left with the awful secret of what Hydra had done.

It had been easier not to think about it when they had been fighting Hydra, because it had been more important to stop Hydra than worry about what they had done. But now, looking at Tony who looked so much like Howard, it was impossible to forget it.

Liberty glanced back at Steve one more time before fixing Tony with a serious look. “I need to talk to you later, when it’s quiet.”

“It’s that serious?”

“Yes. How fast can you hack into the Hydra files?”

Tony drummed his fingers against the arc reactor. “Give me a few hours. What am I looking for?”

“Anything related to your parents.” Liberty saw Tony tense, his face going white for a moment. Liberty shook his head and herded Tony close with gentle pressure from his claws. “I don’t know what’s there, but I want to be sure of what happened before I tell you anything.”

Tony gave him a stiff nod and walked away from him. Liberty reached out for him before he could stop himself, but it wouldn’t do much good. Bringing up Tony’s parents was like walking through a minefield and had to be done carefully, but he couldn’t at this point. How his parents had really died was something Tony deserved to know, even if it meant that Tony would be giving him the silent treatment for a few days.

Liberty sighed and ducked into the tower, glancing over at where Clint and Natasha were curled up on one of the couches. Steve took up the other, raising an eyebrow when Liberty settled on the ground with a long sigh. Liberty shook his head slightly. “It’s nothing.” The lie hurt a little, but it was better than saying something before Tony had sorted out the information. “It’s just good to be home.”

At least that was true. He was more relaxed in the presence of all of his crew than he had be for a while. The only way that it could be better was if Bucky was there.

Liberty flexed his claws slightly, careful not to dig them into the carpet. Bucky was a problem for another day. His trail had been cold when Liberty had gone to search for him. Steve and Sam would have to take the bulk of the work until they had a location, and then it would be back to what he could do.

He shifted his head on the step, moving it close to Steve. He closed his eyes as his captain’s hand trailed over the top of his head. Liberty rumbled his thanks, wiggling until he got comfortable on the floor. Then he opened his eyes, watching the traffic of New York through the windows.

* * *

He stared at the glass column, not really reading the information on the display. The picture meant more to him. It was like looking into a mirror, except that his reflection was just off enough to make it almost too weird to handle. He wanted to look away, but he found himself staring and finding all of the differences.

He kept it up for a moment before turning away. He resisted the urge to tug his hat down. The motion would be too suspicious to the other people in the exhibit. Besides, he looked different enough to all of the pictures of him that no one would notice. And, if they did, he had allowed them to get too close.

He jammed his left hand deeper into his pocket as he let the flow of the exhibit take him along. His face might not give him away but the metal certainly would. A panic was the last thing he needed, especially with the organization falling apart. He had gotten bits and pieces of new reports, but they were all saying the same thing. SHIELD was down and there were extensive investigations being carried out in other government organizations. There would be no one to help him if things went wrong and he was almost afraid of what would happen if someone did. His training would kick in and they would probably end up like the man, the one whose name came and went.

He glanced around the exhibit, breathing a soft sigh of relief when he found the name.

Steve. It was one of the things that always came back to him eventually. Steve and the dreams of dragons.

He let his gaze trail over the exhibit, trying to pick out things as he continued moving. He had visited the exhibit a few times already, but he had quickly learned his tolerance. There was only so much he could take before he had to leave and find a place to sit and absorb what he had seen.

The memories were quick, fleeting and often hard to grasp. Sometimes, he had to read through the display information multiple times to really figure out what he was remembering. And, sometimes, even that didn’t help.

The flow around the room slowed and stopped towards back of the room. He lifted his gaze even though he knew what he would see. Manikins of Captain America and the Howling Commandos were set up in their costumes, although the Captain America one was a modern recreation. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he knew that looking at the uniform was like looking at his own picture. There were too many familiar things and far too many things that were off for it to be real. Curled around them was a Firecracker dragon, protective and triumphant.

The dragon’s pose was the only thing realistic about the group. Steve had never held his shield like that and Jim would have never stood like that. Dum Dum’s hat was set perfectly in place and his own manikin… He stared at the blank left arm, reaching over to rub his own.

He shifted further down the group, heading towards the head of the dragon. He had to duck slightly to get around the head, drifting further away to get away from the group of children who were tugging eagerly at their parents’ legs. He stopped and watched as they were lifted one by one to touch the dragon’s nose.

He watched a little girl pat the dragon’s muzzle reverently, her eyes wide with wonder. He frowned and looked at the manikin. It looked realistic enough, but there was something in him that rebelled at it. He remembered the feeling of warm scales under his hand, how hard they had looked but how soft they were to the touch. He remembered curling up against the dragon’s side during the night and the way light had looked when it had shone through an outstretched wing.

He looked up, surprised to see that he had reached up and touched the manikin’s muzzle like it was the real thing. He sucked in a quick breath as his hand seemed to move on his own, heading back to rub the scales under the eye or scratch at the join of the jaw.

He jerked his hand back before he could move it further. He stared at the manikin for a moment more before turning on his heel and walking out of the exhibit. He had reached his limit for the day and all before he had made it halfway through the exhibit. He swallowed and looked at the floor, following the familiar path to the front doors.

The museum wasn’t too crowded, most people were probably avoiding the city after the fall of SHIELD. He had heard plenty of whispers about what people thought was lurking in the shadows. From everything he had heard and the few things he remembered about his missions, they were right to be afraid, but they would go out anyway. They would whisper about what Hydra had done but they would talk out loud about the Avengers. That was another group that he would have to learn about, but that could wait until he had stored out the tangle of his own memories.

He slowed down as he passed the gift shop, staring in the window at the full displays with Captain America merchandise. He watched parents try to herd kids away from the more fragile displays, his gaze lingering on the plastic figures of the captain and his Howling Commandos. There was a set that matched the displays in the exhibit, some of the kids staring up at them in awe.

His gaze lingered on the figures for a moment before he shook his head. Some of them looked alright, but they had messed up Jim’s face. He let his gaze stay on Steve’s figure for a moment, fully intending on moving off when he saw the dragon figure. He stared at the figure before muttering a curse under his breath and walking into the shop.

When he walked out a few minutes later, he had a small figure of the dragon. It looked so much like it had on the bridge, his body curved around and ready to fight.

Bucky rubbed his thumb over the back of the figure before shoving it into his pocket. He curled his fingers around the finger as he walked out of the museum and into the sunlight, his eyes drawn to the dragons that were sprawled out on the grassy patches.

He had dreamed of dragons in and out of the ice. He had dreamed of them flying, of them talking. He had dreamed of them in all colors.

But he had mostly dreamed of them in red, white and blue.

END


End file.
